Frayer’s mother, DeWitt, Mich., resident Beth Frayer, said it helps to see students driven toward making a difference.

“Growing up, there’s not a lot of opportunities for mentally and physically handicapped kids,” Beth Frayer said. “They’re few and far between. I think (Katie) just really enjoyed it when she was younger and wanted to bring that back for the kids.”

Frayer said she saw a need for student involvement in helping kids with disabilities, and did everything she could to make aid possible.

“When I was younger, my family had helped build an accessibility ramp,” Frayer said. “I knew I wanted to make it handicapped-accessible, so I tried to reach out to people I know to make it happen.”

The event was held at the DeWitt Community Center, 1401 W. Herbison Road, and was sponsored by The Miracle League of Mid-Michigan, an organization that aims to provide children and young adults with special needs the opportunity to play sports.

“A lot of kids that are in walkers and in wheelchairs, they can’t walk up the steps and get to the door to say, ‘Trick or treat,’” The Miracle League of Mid-Michigan director Vicki Caine said. “So for them to be able to just stay on one level surface and go from one student-athlete to the next and say, ‘Trick or treat,’ and get their candy reward, it was priceless.”

When Frayer was younger, she attended a similar event and met an MSU athlete who asked her to be his pen pal. Frayer left a note telling this story on the trick-or-treat bags she gave to the children who attended the event, hoping to inspire people to give back.

“Back in 2005, I went to a similar event hosted by Toys “R” Us and I met Tim Kennedy from the MSU hockey team and he asked me to be his pen pal,” Frayer said. “He invited me to some of the games, and I got to go to the championship game and see him after. I got to hold the trophy. It was a really great experience.”

DeWitt Area Recreation Authority, or DARA, director Clay Summers said Frayer came up with the event and pulled it together on her own, making it more successful than expected.

“We figured if you add in siblings and family members, then we probably had between 100 and 150 people total at the event, and it was all because of Katie,” Summers said. “Because she wanted to do something for these kids, and she did it. It was really quite neat to see.”

Beth Frayer said her daughter was able to get several donations from businesses in the community to make this event a success.

“It was pretty great,” Beth Frayer said. “We had 71 kids come out. We had 66 athletes come to help. The community was really generous. Our church donated over 8,000 pieces of candy. All of the families that came out seemed like they had a good time. It was great, too, because it was kind of a cold and wet Halloween, so the event definitely got around town.”

Summers said Frayer and DARA plan to work with more MSU students in the future.

“We just continue to hope to keep working with her on stuff like this,” Summers said. “We’d like to do something around the Christmas time and Easter. She’s a pretty persistent kid. For a 15-year-old, she’s got her priorities straight.”

In addition to working with the community and playing baseball through The Miracle League of Mid-Michigan, Frayer is a member of the Wheelchair Hockey League of Michigan.

To get involved with The Miracle League of Mid-Michigan, visit www.miracleleagueofmidmichigan.org.