Young entrepreneur helps homeless program by raising funds

At 10, Wilson Lones is an entrepreneur bringing heart and talent to his recently developed business.

The Shelter Island fifth grader in December developed a line of holiday cards followed by an expanded line of all-occasion cards featuring his own art work. But it wasn’t just to raise money for himself and his fledgling business.

Motivated by his parents, Ebeth and Jason Lones, he developed a plan to raise money for the Lubbock, Texas-based “Open Door Housing” program providing housing and supporting services for chronically homeless people.

In a short time, Wilson has raised almost $1,000 selling his cards at $10 for a packet of four to friends, relatives and anyone interested in supporting his effort.

He learned about Open Door during a visit he and his family made to Texas. When he started his project, his mother asked if he wanted to sell the cards for his own profit or a charity. He thought it was “a keen idea” to contribute money to Open Door.

The family has been engaged in charity work through various missionary efforts, including time spent in Honduras, where they considered settling down, but ultimately decided they wanted to be nearer friends and family in the United States, Wilson said.

For Wilson, the transition was not difficult, he said, because he already had friends on the East Coast.

He was born in Colorado and has moved around a bit with his parents, but Shelter Island proved to be the place where the family felt most at home, with his parents having spent much time here over a 20-year period.

The family moved to the Island in 2017. Jason Lones sought a run for a Board of Education seat, only to learn that he fell a month short of the residency requirement. But in September 2018, when the board had a vacancy, Mr. Lones won an appointment and was subsequently elected to his own term last May. He is currently Board of Education vice president.

With Wilson attending Shelter Island School, Mr. Lones wanted to be involved in decisions he believed would benefit education in the district, he said.

“I just had a lot of fun doing it,” Wilson said about creating his cards, while admitting it took a couple of drafts to get the card collections right.

Asked if art is in his future, he said, “I do like drawing.” 

But he currently envisions a future involved with an aquarium program. He especially likes sea otters and seals, he said. Not surprisingly, when he’s not engaged in drawing and school work, he loves swimming and electronic games — those he can play on the Nintendo Switch or his iPad.

Anyone interested in supporting Wilson’s sales to help support Open Door can email his mother, Ebeth, at [email protected].