TRYON – A fundraising campaign to help rising sixth grader Wayne Carson attend the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF); Pathways to STEM is complete.

The area, within a week, raised the necessary funding for Carson to be able to attend the camp, which will be held at Wake Forest University July 17-22.

“The family would like to thank God first and foremost for giving Wayne the opportunity to attend the NYLF-STEM program at Wake Forest University,” said family member Casey Spurlin. “They would like to thank the community along with the Forbes Foundation as well as the Tennant Foundation for their generous outpouring of support for Wayne.”

Spurlin said the goal has been met and any extra money received will be put towards travel, required dress clothing for Carson to wear during camp and any other incidentals for his week.

Carson is a rising 6th grader at Polk County Middle School and was accepted to the leadership forum, but the scholarships were depleted prior to his acceptance. The total cost in tuition for the week is $2,164.