Sparta teen heads jeans drive Loss of dad spurs Ryersen to help others

By Rose Sgarlato
SPARTA – Ryan Reyersen began his freshman year at Sparta High School in September 2014. His father, Gordon, had been preparing Ryan for this new journey when suddenly Gordon passed away at 57 from a heart attack.

“It was a really difficult time, losing your father in June and starting high school in September,” said Kathleen Reyersen, Ryan’s mother.

The Reyersons are not new to academia. Gordon was a high school photography teacher at Wayne Hills in Wayne for more than 25 years, and Kathleen teaches English grades 9 through 12 at Bernards High School in Bernardsville.

Gordon was also the yearbook advisor at Wayne Hills and enjoyed giving his son guidance on what clubs to join.

“I was concerned that Ryan would not remain active. My husband and I always told our children that we were the first ones to graduate college in our family,” said Kathleen Reyersen.

In other words education, hard work and community service were three ethics that Gordon and Kathleen tried to instill in both Ryan and his younger brother, Cody.

Fortunately, Ryan succeeded in his freshman year and joined many activities at Sparta High School, including playing drums for marching band, guitar in the string club, viola in the orchestra and competing on the swim team.

Outside of school, he is a member of Saint Kateri’s choir and plays viola the Sussex County Youth Orchestra.

About a year ago, Ryan was emptying out some closets at his house and found old blue jeans that had belonged to his father. There were so many, due to Gordon’s casual dress code as a photography teacher, that Ryan thought it would be a good idea to "recycle"’ the jeans in some way.

“I was looking to do a service project. I went online and started doing some research and found Teens for Jeans, an organization that gives old jeans to homeless teens,” said Ryan. “I thought it worked well.”

According to www.dosomething.org, the affiliated website of Teens for Jeans, “Approximately one in three homeless people in the United States is under the age of 18. One of the most requested items that young people in homeless shelters ask for is a pair of jeans. Jeans are such a huge part of the youth culture and provide a sense of normalcy to the person wearing them.”

“As anyone who has suffered a loss can imagine, it’s extremely difficult to part with your loved one’s items. Ryan learned about the Teens for Jeans Program and knew immediately that this was a worthwhile endeavor and a perfect tribute to his Dad,” said Kathleen.

With more than 75 homes in their development and many fellow students to tap into, Ryan put his plan into action collecting jeans from neighbors and students. Signs were made at Sparta High School and also daily morning announcements encouraged donations.

Last year, Ryan with the help of his community collected 200 jeans that Kathleen dropped off to retailer Aeropostale in the Rockaway Mall, also affiliated and acting as a collection basin for Teens for Jeans. The jeans were distributed to homeless shelters throughout Sussex and Morris counties.

“Since 2008 Aeropostale and dosomething.org have partnered in the Teens for Jeans campaign, and over 5 million pairs of jeans have been donated to area homeless shelters throughout the country," said Kathleen.

Teen for Jeans 2016 is now under way at Sparta High School and Ryan is hoping to double the amount and reach 400 this year.

The Reyersens are asking for clean, gently used denim jeans to be dropped off at Sparta High School by Friday, Feb. 26, at the collection box located in the main entrance.

“It feels good to give back. My friends were very supportive,” said Ryan. “ I think my Dad would have liked the idea.”

Caption: Ryan Ryersen puts old jeans to good use.