Stoney’s Kindness Grows on Giving Tuesday as Class of ’75 Donates $7,400

By Cory Rodgers | FreeWire – Your News, Your Voice

Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity held each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Created in 2012 as a counterbalance to the shopping events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday encourages individuals, communities, and organizations to support charitable causes through donations, volunteer efforts, and acts of kindness.

This year, Bucyrus City Schools and Stoney’s Kindness Fund were among the local recipients of that generosity.

The Bucyrus High School Class of 1975 marked their 50th class reunion by donating $7,400 to Stoney’s Kindness Fund for Giving Tuesday 2025 — a contribution that will directly benefit students across the district.

A presentation was originally scheduled to take place in the Bucyrus High School gym, but after four inches of snow fell Monday night, school was canceled and the event was moved to the Bucyrus Board of Education Office.

Reunion organizer Barb Herb Christel, who has coordinated the Class of 1975 reunions every five years for more than three decades, said she has always wanted these gatherings to be about more than simply catching up.

“I am very interested in giving back to the community, and I don’t want it to be just about the party and catching up with friends,” Christel said. “My classmates have stepped up in a way I never imagined.”

Before this reunion, the most the class had ever raised was $800. Class member Sue Fogle said the new total left her genuinely impressed.

“I think it’s amazing, and it’s great that we could come together and do that,” Fogle said. “You can really do something awesome when you get people together.”

Stoney’s Kindness Fund is named in honor of Chuck Stone, a 1976 Bucyrus graduate and starting left guard for the 1979 NC State Wolfpack ACC championship team. Stone was a dedicated supporter of the Redmen, and the fund was created as a way for his family to support students facing challenges similar to those he experienced growing up.

Class of 1975 member Lanny Bowman said the reunion reminded him of the kind of people he went to school with.

“I’ve been gone for so many years, but coming back to the reunions reminded me of the quality of the people I went to school with,” Bowman said. “This is an extraordinary group of people, and their generosity doesn’t surprise me. It’s just good.”

His wife, Judy Bowman, also a member of the Class of 1975, said she sees the class’s generosity as a reflection of how they have grown.

“When I think about who we were in high school and who we’ve become, it’s clear how generous everyone is in giving back,” she said. “It’s a really wonderful thing.”

The reunion weekend also included a silent auction, an idea brought forward by class member John Schnabel, who has long been involved in charitable fundraising.

“I’ve seen it work before,” Schnabel said. “It’s easier for people to contribute when they feel they’re receiving something in return.”

Since its creation, Stoney’s Kindness Fund has been used to purchase eyeglasses for students at Bucyrus Elementary School as well as winter coats and sports equipment for students at Bucyrus Secondary School.

Class member Sandy Stone, Chuck’s wife, said the class still feels a strong connection to Bucyrus.

“It’s interesting because we’ve all gone our separate ways and built our own lives,” she said. “But when we come back together, we all recognize a responsibility to our hometown. If we can help Bucyrus students, we do it.”

Stoney’s Kindness Fund is a Social Impact Endowment Fund managed by the Community Foundation for Crawford County, a permanent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Editor’s Note: Cory Rodgers is a sophomore at BHS. When FreeWire’s staff learned about the check presentation and realized their schedules wouldn’t allow them to attend, Cory stepped in to cover the story. He is part of FreeWire’s social media team.

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