11-Year-Old Boy In Washington Co. Helping Others After Losing Mother To Addiction
WASHINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) -- The owner of a hair salon and her grandson are going above and beyond in many ways.
At A Cut Above hair salon in Washington County, you'll find the owner — Rhonda DiBello — and her grandson, Preston Robinson. Preston, 11, is on a mission in memory of his mother, Melissa Moeller, who died as a result of a drug overdose years ago.
"I didn't really grow up with my mom as much as I'd hoped," Preston told KDKA's Kym Gable. "I lived with my grandma most of my life. The reason why is she struggled with drug addiction throughout my childhood."
After his mother's death, Preston started raising money for the Washington County non-profit Harmony Life Center. The center is run entirely by volunteers and helps people with addiction and recovery through various programs and services.
Preston initially donated the money he made with his lemonade stand sales. But this year, coronavirus prevented him from setting up the lemonade stands. So he put a simple pink bucket in his grandmother's salon so people could make donations to Harmony Life Center.
"Whenever customers came in and they were about to leave — if they had change or if they just felt like donating — at the end, we gave it all to Harmony Life Center," Preston said.
Last month, Preston donated $611, but he was able to help the center raise a lot more. Harmony Life Center was invited to take part in the Rock Community Challenge to raise funds and compete for prizes in the form of additional funds. Preston's efforts contributed to that mission, as well.
M.J. Markley is the co-founder of Harmony Life. He and the rest of the volunteers now have a strong relationship with Preston and his family.
"He could have taken the tragedy and went a different way," said Markley. "He has chosen to help people with addiction now, can't thank him enough."
"I don't want kids to go through what I had to go through," Preston said. "I always wanted to do good," said Preston.
To find out more about Harmony Life Center, click here.
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