Applause for...
One of our newest television stars is Phase III Scholar Sarah. She appeared on a Portland, Oregon show called "Town Hall" that aired on September 10th. She and other Portland/Vancouver area youth discussed how the world in the 1990's is perceived by different social and ethnic teen groups. Sarah's consensus is that the 1990's will be good." Way to go, Sarah!
Kudos to Mentor Doug Lefever for being nominated for the 1995 Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen Humanitarian Award! Joe Thompson, Doug's supervisor at the Giving Tree (an organization where formerly homeless men make wooden toys, with proceeds of the sales going to homeless children) observed his involvement in the community and nominated him for this prestigious award. Doug is one of two finalists for this award, which acknowledges a volunteer's commitment and service to the poor and disadvantaged in the community. Among his extensive list of involvements are: working 30+ hours a week at the Giving Tree; volunteering on the Board of Directors for United Cerebral Palsy of King and Snohomish Counties; and of course, volunteering many hours to DO-IT during the Summer Study and throughout the year as a Mentor. As one of two finalists from northern Washington, Doug will be competing with finalists from central and southern regions and the award will be given in December.
Its poultry in motion! What Scholar has the unique distinction of having trained a chicken to lie on it's back and fall asleep? Phase II Scholar Bill was recently selected to attend the National 4-H Congress in Tennesee. One of only 15 Oregonians to earn this honor, Bill currently focuses his energies primarily on pigs. Of things porcine, Bill states, "Pigs are great escape artists...you have to look for every little thing they can get out of." Bill currently has six pigs he is raising on his family's ranch west of Phoenix, OR. He will compete in Tennessee in the computers and science category.
Another DO-IT Scholar becomes a TV star! Phase II Scholar Rachel was featured on Eastern Washington news station KVEW42. She was selected to represent the successful impact Children's Hospital in Seattle had on her life. Rachel, who is on a portable dialysis machine for 10 hours a night, leads a very active life. The news story focused on her success as a student and her involvement on the cheer squad at her high school. Great job, Rachel!
We'll close this column with an email message from a proud DO-IT parent:
Hello, DO-IT Kids,
This is Andrew (Cassidy)'s Mom speaking. Andrew is too modest to announce the fact that he won an award at MDA Summer Camp last June, but I don't mind telling you all about it. It is called the "Bret French Memorial Award" and it is given to the camper voted to be the embodiment of the camp spirit. It is awarded each year by the State Firefighters Association. They sent a representative from each of the union groups around the State to camp to visit with the kids and get to know them. Then they held their vote and honored Andrew with it this year.
The award honors the ideas of caring, sharing and brotherhood. A plaque was given to Andrew by the Firefighters during the Jerry Lewis Telethon on one of the local cut-aways. We had to drive clear over to Billings on Labor Day weekend to take part in this event. But we had a good time, and Chuck and I are pretty proud parents right now.
Bye for now,
Connie Cassidy