Participants are raising money to assist with the costs of treating(and to ultimately find a cure for) this debilitating disease. If you'd like to help please consider making a modest financial donation at my support page here.
Fairy princess reading her book (Thanks to Shari!) I'm participating in a walk to help my co-worker Shari raise funds for heroes like her son who have to deal with Cystic Fibrosis everyday. The walk is happening at Oaks Park in Portland on Saturday May 21st.
Participants are raising money to assist with the costs of treating(and to ultimately find a cure for) this debilitating disease. If you'd like to help please consider making a modest financial donation at my support page here. Staff at John McLoughlin Elementary School in Oregon City recently started a Youth Leadership Project to honor Ashley and her desire to help others. The project aims to "support students finding ways to strengthen their home, school, community and world in a big way."
Ashley organized a school blanket drive during the Fall/Winter of 2001 after seeing a news article about local homeless individuals who were suffering in the cold winter weather. She was so touched by story that she decided to do something about it: inform others. She talked to her friends, spoke at a school board meeting and made announcements on the school PA system. In all she and her peers at school collected more than 75 blankets and donated them to a local homeless shelter! Thanks to Mrs. Sanders, Ms. Brown and other staff members at John McLoughlin for honoring Ashley in this way. With this project they desire for students to understand that one person can make a difference much like Ashley did. Please read more about the leadership project on page 3 of the JME October 2010 newsletter and page 1 of the November 2010 newsletter. -- Update on Tuesday March 23rd, 2011 -- Mrs. Sanders contacted me recently to let me know that Oregon City School District Upfront newsletter was so inspired by the student leadership projects that they want to publish an article about these amazing kids! Please read more about the Ashley Drew Leadership Project on pages 1 and 2 of the JME February 2011 newsletter below. Sara was inspired by Ashley's generosity - so much so she wanted to have a way to help others during the holidays which has become a difficult time of your for us. She had an idea - let's feed members of our community who may be lonely or with food or housing during this time of year. Our church was gracious enough to let us their kitchen for preparing a traditional Christmas dinner. We had several members of our church and biological family show up to help. We fed 7 individuals from outside our church. SUCCESS! As I mentioned here previously, in August Ashley's grandma and uncle traveled to Guatemala with a local church to help residents of Kairos House, a place for families to obtain food and lodging while their children receive treatment for cancer in Guatemala City.
While there they and their fellow team members opened a library in Ashley's honor to help enrich the life of its residents. The children at Kairos House spend a great deal of time in bed recoverying from treatment related illness. The books and art supplies in the library will go a long way to occupy and distract the children during their recovery. In the picture above Ashley's Uncle Dave displays the dedication plaque and showcases the collection of books already in the library. Please keep Kairos House and its staff in your prayers! Recently, Guatemala was hit with heavy rains and the sewer system backed up into Kairos House causing a huge mess. At the same time staff are looking into purchasing additional space to expand God's ministry in their area. This is would require a large financial investment that is well beyond their means. But it's not beyond God's means so please pray for financial support so they can better serve His people in the area. If you'd like to help or make a donation please email Kairos House. Sara and I recently walked in Light the Night to raise money for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and to honor our daughter Ashley who passed away from Leukemia in May 2009. This was a short three-mile walk in downtown Portland Oregon on Saturday October 9th. More than 3,200 other walkers joined in to raise over $300,000 to fight blood cancers like the one that Ramsay Farrar is fighting every day. Please prayerfully consider making a donation to help him and other cancer survivors get the care they need. To find out more about Light the Night please visit their online community. Thanks!
The OCUMC Youth Group will be helping one of their congregation members, Ray Watts, by painting his house in the near future. As you can see from the photo above the south side of his house needs some work.
Spotted this rose on a recent photowalk around the neighborhood. Couldn't help but notice the purple on the tips of the flower and of course the purple roses behind!
Thanks to Ashley's friends and school counselor who remembered her on the one year anniversary of her passing. They honored her by planting a rose bush in the memory garden at Oregon City High School. Several of her friends shared stories about Ashley and poems for her. Afterwards her life was celebrated in a way that she would have enjoyed: conversing with her friends around a fountain of chocolate!
Thanks to each of you - you are very special to Ashley, an inspiration to her. I hope you understand how much your thoughtfulness meant to us. Thank you! It is well known among Ashley's friends and family that she loved to read. She has a bookcase full of books that were read cover-to-cover many times. So it seems fitting for her to have her own library. Well, she's going to get one - or at least one with her name on it.
Ashley's grandma and uncle will soon be traveling to Guatemala with a local church to help residents of Kairos House. Kairos House is a place for families to receive food and lodging while their children receive treatment for cancer in Guatemala City. Many of the families live far away in the countryside so frequent travel to the only hospital in the area is not possible. Because the painful treatment can last for a many weeks, these young patients and their families find hospitality and necessities at Kairos House. It's their home away from home. In fact, if it were not for Kairos House, the only alternative might be the street. Members of the team making the trip to Guatemala City have been so moved by Ashley's life, they've been inspired to start a library at Kairos House to enrich the life of its residents. The library will include children's books and art supplies, two things very near and dear to Ashley's heart. The children at Kairos House spend a great deal of time in bed recoverying from treatment related illness. The books and art supplies will go a long way to occupy and distract the children during their recovery. The mission team from Foothills Church will be helping Kairos residents deal with the pain and suffering of their cancer illness and treatment. Because Ashley's family found comfort and consolation from lap blankets they received at the time of Ashley's passing, the team will be collecting fabric and material to make lap blankets for distribution to Kairos residents. Please pray for these folks as they plan their journey to Guatemala - pray that they receive all the supplies and support they need to make their trip successful. Thanks to everyone who helped me raise over $3700 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in rememberance of Ashley. I finished the Eugene 1/2 marathon walk with a total time of 3 hours and 40 minutes which is about 16:50 per mile pace. For me the time's not important -- the point of my participation was to raise money for cancer patients and increase public awareness of their needs.
A special thank you to my aunt Janet and cousin Abby who particpated with me and made the experience fun. They made the event even more meaningful by wearing pictues of Ashley on their backs! Again, a shout out to everyone at Oregon City United Methodist Chuch who helped me raise more than $1100 at a recent lunch which was so successful in part by a generous donation from Oregon City Haggen Food & Pharmacy. In all, participating with Team in Training was a great experience that I will likely do again. I encourage others to consider doing so. |
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