Ryan Dye ‘26 has been awarded the Channel 4 Go For It Award for December in honor of his commitment to community service.

“While it was exciting to have received the award, I really can not take all the credit as I am just a small piece of the overall program,” Dye explained. 

Dye, along with the help of his family and friends, including the hockey and lacrosse communities at Catholic Central, held a Holiday Stocking Drive where he assembled and donated 350 holiday stockings to local foster children. He was nominated for the award by hockey teammate Liam Simone ‘27 and Simone’s family. 

“My close family friend Barb Matthews-Guntzviller in Macomb County started the Holiday Stocking Drive. My family and I worked with her in years past to help stuff stockings that went to Macomb County. It was something my family and I did and we set a goal of 50 stockings. I started coordinating and collecting donations my freshman year of high school by reaching out to hockey families since I had not begun to play lacrosse for the high school yet,” Dye commented. 

“Last year (2023), Barb made contact with Oakland County Children’s Services. This was our first year working with Oakland County and I set the same goal to collect donations for 50 stockings (25 boys and 25 girls, ages 5-9) from the DCC hockey and lacrosse programs. We achieved my goal and collected over $1,700 in donations, which filled the 50 stockings that I planned to fill,” he continued. “These stockings were included in the 650 stockings that went to Oakland County Children’s Services last year.”

This year, Dye’s family friend, Ava Guntzviller, a junior at Walled Lake Northern High School, took over coordinating with Oakland County Children’s Services.  

“This year, as I did in years past, I signed up for 50 stockings and reached out to my family, friends, hockey, and lacrosse teammates and families seeking support and donations. My parents also helped by making a Facebook post. We created an Amazon Wish List for people to contribute directly. The wish list included things like candy, hats, gloves, small toys, pencils, coloring books, activity books, Chapstick, and gift cards for fast food,” Dye stated. “I was able to meet my goal and fill 50 stockings (25 boys, 25 girls, ages 5-9 years old) with over $1,800 in donations.”

As a program, which included Ava’s friends and family, Ryan’s cousins, and others, the group filled and donated 350 stockings this year that were delivered to Oakland County on Monday, December 2, 2024. 

“Ava set a goal this year of 350 stockings because this was her first year taking over the coordination of activities. Barb and Ava coordinated with TaSeanda Johnson at Oakland County Children’s Services. I have been setting a goal of 50 stockings since my freshman year, which feeds into the overall target each year,” Dye explained. 

“For the last two years, my friend Luke Kramer ‘27 has assisted with filling the stockings along with my sisters and parents. We have also coordinated with my aunt and cousins in the past years, and they also support this fundraiser in Milford. We open and count all the items and lay them out in an assembly line within our kitchen,” he explained. 

Reflecting on the importance of community service, Dye stated, “Giving back is important to me because it helps me stay grounded. I receive a lot from my family, school, teachers, teammates, and friends; not everyone is as fortunate to have that support. This activity is fun because I know the children that receive the stockings might not have a Christmas and I hope this makes their Christmas brighter. Giving back gives me a sense of pride knowing that I am doing something bigger than myself. As it has been said, you don’t have to be great to give, but you have to give to be great!”

When he’s not spending time giving back, Dye is an active participant in several activities at Catholic Central. In addition to playing hockey and lacrosse at CC, he has been involved in student activities for the last two years and was also inducted into the National Honor Society this year.