A Franklin Community High School senior wasn’t going to let her hearing impairment slow her down.
Emma Dillon committed the past six years of her life to helping others, and that work has earned her national recognition.
Dillon was born with profound hearing loss. She is completely deaf in one ear and only has about 15 percent hearing in the other. Because of her disability, she was in classes for students who are hard of hearing from early on in her life.
She grew close with longtime teacher Jane Ellen, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Shortly after, Dillon began making and selling bows to donate to the American Cancer Society, she said.
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“I wanted to raise money for research in her honor. She passed away a few years ago,” Dillon said.
“She was encouraged by it and loved that I did it for her. She was always involved and came to everything I asked her to. She was like a second mom, and people told me she thought of me as a second daughter. It made her proud.”
The Council for Exceptional Children chose Dillon as a national recipient of the Yes I Can award in the School and Community Activities category. The Yes I Can awards honor children and youth with special needs who shine. The Center for Exceptional Children has awarded thousands of students since the program started in 1982.
Dillon won the award after she submitted a video discussing her hearing impairment and the charitable work she has done since she started Emma’s Bows six years ago.
In that time, Dillon has raised about $42,000 for not only cancer research, but also Franklin Strong, an initiative that was started after two students died. She also helped fund hunting trips for children with special needs. She sponsored a child in Haiti and is planning a mission trip to Honduras with her parents and boyfriend in March to help build houses and provide food in a community there, she said.
Locally, Dillon has helped the families of cancer patients monetarily, she said.
“I give them cash when I meet them,” Dillon said. “I give them like $100 and tell them use it for anything you need. Pay for gas, pay for food. There (are) so many bills involved with cancer. I give them my information and I can help them if they need anything.”
As part of the award, Dillon and her family will be flown to Portland, Ore. to be honored in February.
Tai Botkin, who teaches Dillon and other students who are hard of hearing, nominated her for the award, according to a Franklin Community Schools news release.
“From such a young age, Emma set forth to make a difference in people’s lives,” Botkin said in the release. “It started by raising money for cancer research, but it has allowed her to make connections within our community as a role model for so many children and adults. She is an incredible student, a truly kind and wonderful person, and her hearing loss is often forgotten because of all that she has been able to accomplish.”
Next year, Dillon will start school at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. She wants to work for a non-profit organization in the future.
And she will continue to sell her bows. She has also made and sold necklaces, headbands and fidget spinners. She has not pocketed a single dime, she said.
Along with her charitable work, Dillon has a 4.1 GPA, is a cheerleader and competitive power lifter, and has won several Relay for Life awards, according to the news release.
