A teenager’s spooky haunted house benefits the forgotten soldiers

Palm Beach County Teen scare people for a good cause. This is how Jonah Wides spent his Friday and Saturday evenings.

“We’re just doing a haunted house to raise money for the Forgotten Soldiers,” he said.

Forgotten Soldiers Outreach is a non-profit organization that sends relief packages to soldiers overseas. The organization is dear to his family.

“My dad’s grandfather was in the military, so I just wanted to do this for him,” Wides said.

Jonah’s mother, Cheryl Wilk, said the nonprofit has been a part of their family for years.

“When he was a baby, I volunteered with them — when I had a lot more time — and so I carried him in his stroller and helped with care packages for the Forgotten Soldiers,” Wilk said.

Together, they turned nearly every inch of their Winston Trails home into a haunted house. The project was created for a year.

“Putting walls up, putting furniture up, moving things around because, believe it or not, this is our house, so we had to find a way to make it workable,” Wilk said.

It was a labor of love with a great purpose.

“I’m trying to raise about $500 or more just to help the soldiers,” Wides said.

Almost $700 later, every fear has paid off.

“It was a lot of fun,” said one community member. “To see the high school students put in the time and effort to do this so they can collect donations, write letters, it’s just fantastic.”

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