Young sisters raise funds to aid troops
STRATFORD — Beanie Babies may seem like unlikely gifts to send to U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_7410706
RICHARD WEIZEL
Article Last Updated: 11/08/2007 10:49:57 PM EST
But a sixth-grader at Stratford Academy and her 16-year-old sister are doing just that: collecting small stuffed animals for U.S. soldiers to hand out to children in the war-torn countries.
Stratford Academy student Rebecca Simon, 10, and her sister Caity, a junior at Stratford High School, are spearheading the effort to collect the Beanie Babies.
At the same time, Rebecca is leading a fundraising drive by selling Becky's Bookmarks, her own invention, to help the town buy portable defibrillators and provide the life-saving devices in public places.
Volunteers have been enlisted to help with both causes during Stratford High School's football game against Nonnewaug High School at 1 p.m. Saturday at Penders Field.
"These are great causes, and Becky is a special student who has worked hard to help the community and others throughout society," said Stratford High School Principal Jack Lynch. "These are great examples of the kinds of volunteer work she and her family have done to help people, and we are very proud."
Becky's Bookmarks were created two years ago and have been sold throughout town as a fundraiser to purchase portable defibrillators, said her mother, Colleen Simon. "Stratford High School is a good place to sell the bookmarks because faculty members' lives have been saved by defibrillators," Simon said. A 1977 graduate was recently lauded for saving the life of a man using a portable defibrillator, she added.
Simon said Becky's friends help to create and sell the bookmarks, and since the fundraiser's inception, more than $700 has been raised.
She said the Beanie Babies will be collected and sent to soldiers assigned to a weapons company based at Hurricane Point Ar Ramadi, Iraq.
Soldiers say the children in Iraq and Afghanistan love the stuffed animals, and handing them out to local children helps create good will.
"The children love the Beanie Babies, they just can't get enough of them," said Marine Sgt. Mike Lanpolsaen. "The smile on their innocent faces is priceless. Hopefully, they will continue to experience the same joy without fear or intimidation and have the same freedom that our kids have in the States.
"I feel these kinds of gestures are making a big difference here," Lanpolsaen said. Mayor James R. Miron said he's been amazed by Becky's contributions.
"She's a remarkable young lady. When I started two years ago to raise awareness about automatic defibrillators in public places, she came to my open-door meeting with her grandmother and asked how she could help," Miron said.
"Then she came up with the idea of selling these bookmarks, and she's gotten a lot of other kids involved and excited about the effort," the mayor said. "Her awareness of what's going on in the world to touch children in other countries is also very inspiring."
Becky's Bookmarks have been sold at Town Hall, I'll Take Manhattan Deli and the Birdseye Municipal Complex, as well as Stratford Day and the Stratford Fire Department Parade.