Access Lenoir

A sledding accident that led to several months in a wheelchair was the impetus for one 17-year-old Kinston teen's foray into activism.

Cat Kosinski, a senior at Kinston High School, is working on a Girl Scout Gold Award project - an endeavor similar to the Boy Scouts Eagle Scout rank - to raise awareness about those with various disabilities.

"It's a lot of work and a lot of writing," she said. "... For me, it's just kind of something when I started, I couldn't just stop."

Kosinski has created a multi-pronged project, part of which is a Disability Awareness Resource Fair to be held Oct. 15 at the Vernon Park Mall.

"I want people to actively explore all the resources available to them," she said.

As of Friday, around 55 vendors had signed up to be a part of the event, including the Lenoir County Transit System, Eastpointe and the Division of Services for the Hard of Hearing.

Entertainment will be provided as well, by such groups as King Tiger and the River of Life step team.

"My biggest fear about this project is that there will be so many vendors, so many resources, great entertainment," she said, "but nobody will show up, or not enough people will show up."

The fair is a venue for people with and without disabilities to explore the services available to them in Lenoir County, as well as to learn what life is like for those with physical, mental and developmental disabilities, Kosinski said.

As a result of what has been two years of hard work so far, Kosinski said the mall has agreed to make a major change: automatic doors at all their entrances by the spring. This will allow those with disabilities more autonomy, and the ability to get around without depending on others.

"People are always willing to help, but people who have disabilities don't always want help," she said. "They want to be independent."

Colleen Kosinski, Cat Kosinski's mother and district administrator for the Guardian ad Litem program in the 8th District, said her daughter's project involves more than simply the fair. She's also built one ramp for a disabled person and plans on building another soon.

Kosinski worked with Ministries of Mercy, Colleen Kosinski said, to build the first one. Kinston Building Supplies and Jason West Construction will be donating supplies and experience, respectively, to the second ramp-building project. This time, Kosinski will be making a ramp for a retired police officer who was at Ground Zero.

"He's a neat person," Kosinski said.

The teen has also talked with the Kinston City Council and the Lenoir County Commissioners about her project. She even issued a wheelchair challenge to the commissioners: Try to get out of the Lenoir County Courthouse using a wheelchair.

Kosinski said most of the commissioners took her up on the challenge, as did City Manager Mike Jarman.

Colleen Kosinski said Jarman - who was "soaked in sweat" by the end of the exercise - wrote her daughter a letter, saying it was a good project that opened his eyes to what those in wheelchairs face on a daily basis.

Kosinski is also scheduled to speak to the Lenoir County School Board and at the principals' meeting.

For Kosinski, what started with an eye-opening accident has blossomed into a project aimed at helping a group of people often forgotten by those without disabilities.

"It's been a project that I've enjoyed so much, and it's been such a great project to work on that it's never going to be a burden," she said. "... It's so much work, but it's all going to be worth it in the end, and hopefully, it will never end because more people will get involved."

Vanessa C. Shortley can be reached at (252) 559-1076 or vshortley@freedomenc.com. Check out Vanessa's blog at http://vshortley.encblogs.com.