Jake Bence is a freshman chemistry major who plans on attending NSU’s College of Pharmacy. He is a member of Razor’s Edge and is in the Dual Admission Program. He is also one of the cofounders of the Florida Rangers Coalition. His hobbies include bowling, going to the gym and hanging out with friends.
A little over a year ago, a few friends and I decided to purchase Power Ranger suits on a whim. They were the source of a lot of fun, but what we didn’t expect was the huge impact on the community the suits would have.
The idea of buying Power Ranger suits with my three friends was a unique way to have some fun; however, it quickly turned into something way beyond that. At first, we went out in our town of Spring Hill, Florida, taking pictures with strangers and standing by busy intersections. People often asked us our purpose behind walking around wearing our suits, and at first we really didn’t have one. But after seeing the surprise and happiness we brought to children and adults alike, we decided our purpose was to improve the community, spread positive messages and make children happy.
We decided to create a Facebook page, dubbing ourselves the Spring Hill Power Rangers. People immediately submitted requests for us to attend birthday parties and community events in the area. From then on out, we referred fans to our Facebook page to send appearance requests there. Under anonymity, we quickly became the talk of the town and our page exploded in popularity.
Looking around at my friends one night while we all tried to keep up with the Facebook messages pouring in, we agreed upon a few guidelines. As a team, we would not profit from any of our involvements. Any money would be used to buy better quality suits and to expand our team. With our new purpose in mind, it was our goal to become role models for children and better the community and ourselves.
For the next 10 months, we formed a full team of seven that regularly did community work with secret identities. We had visited countless birthday parties, ate lunch with bullied students, attended community fundraisers, gave motivational speeches to classes, pushed campaigns for healthy eating, spoke out against bullying and encouraged reading. Our team appeared in multiple news outlets and the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution honoring our efforts.
Toward the end of our senior year, we were wrapping up our college decisions and preparing for the new lives ahead of us. But one thing we planned to continue was our Power Rangers organization. Our plan was to create teams at our campuses and continue our community involvement, hoping to inspire others to do the same. We founded the Florida Rangers Coalition and something extraordinary happened. Saban Brands, the company that owns the Power Rangers franchise, contacted us. They loved what we had started and wanted to work with us on creating a national student association modeled after our group.
To reveal the newly formed Power Rangers Student Alliance, we were flown out to Pasadena, California to attend Power Morphicon, a national Power Ranger convention held every two years. Now that the program is unveiled, anybody can sign up with the Power Rangers Student Alliance to start a Power Ranger team of their own through their high school or college.
Here at NSU, I am in the process of forming a team. Once we have a team, we will attend local events both on and off campus in hopes of bringing people closer and improving the community as a whole. I am also working on allying with Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to visit some of the patients there.
Being on the team, I feel that I have grown as a person. Being a team leader really pushed me to improve myself as a leader and give an example for others to follow. Making time to give back to the community was rewarding not only to others but to me as well. The satisfaction you feel just from bringing a smile to others’ faces is incomparable. I learned to be the change you want to see in the world, even if that means wearing spandex out in public. I know that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of children out there who will remember when the Red Ranger spoke to them. I want to see this organization grow and see us touch the lives of even more people. All I need is a team to get started.
The Florida Rangers Coalition plans on becoming a registered nonprofit organization. You can check out our Facebook page (search for Florida Rangers Coalition) for updates on future plans, events our teams are involved in across the state, and much more. So, if you are interested in joining as a main ranger, backup, or just want to be involved in some way, please contact me at nsurangers@gmail.com.
