Tom Landry and Shawn Richard are great people. They are each successful in their professions, Tom an architect/designer. and Shawn an attorney. They have a wonderful family life in New Orleans, a beautiful home, a son, and dog and a cat. They are blessed like so many of us.
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| Happy 4th! |
Two years ago, after the earthquake in Haiti, Tom went to Port au Prince to help out. At the time, he didn't exactly know how that would manifest itself, but in no time he found himself at the
St. Vincent's Center for Handicapped Children. St. Vincent's was full up (and hard up) before the earthquake, so you can imagine the dire situation after the earthquake, when thousands of children were disabled and orphaned.
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| Little girl in Haiti |
Seeing all those kids made Tom think of his own dear nephew, Jake. Jake is disabled, and as it often goes with stricken children, Jake has the aura of angel about him, cheerful, hopeful, and wanting to help other kids like him.
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| Tom Landry with his nephew Jake Richard - Tom is the director of Camp Jake |
Tom hatched an idea, along with the help of Physicians For Peace (and The Red Thread Promise) to create a respite and an opportunity for the kids at St. Vincent's. He created Camp Jake.
Camp Jake is specifically designed for the children with disabilities. The camp is held for two sessions each year, one in the winter and one in the summer. This is an amazing experience for the precious orphans of St. Vincent’s. Camp Jake turns a long, winter or summer break with no family, no school, and no respite from cultural ridicule into cherished memories.
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| This is the resort that turns into Camp Jake for ten days for the orphans at St. Vincent's |
Camp Jake is designed to remove physical and emotional barriers, giving the children an opportunity to engage in:
• Creative arts, such as sculpting, painting, music, sewing, and jewelry making, both fun and therapeutic. These activities also teach valuable skills that may enable career opportunities later in life.
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| Creative arts at Camp Jake |
• Physical outlets including sports, aquatics, dancing, and even a special Olympics designed to develop their self confidence.
• Social activities including cooking, dancing, storytelling, and cultural exchanges between the children and the counselors.
Campers will be encouraged to wholly express themselves physically and emotionally. They will have the opportunity to explore life in ways that will broaden their horizons, creating life-long memories.
We're talking about kids with no arms, no legs, blind - you name a physical disability and one of these kids has it.
So as bad as a long hot summer gets for all of us...well you get the idea.
Go to the
Red Thread Promise blog and make a donation with the Paypal button.
$5. or $10. will be great, and yes, small amounts of philanthropy make a difference.
Throughout the year, Tom raises money for everything from a water filtration system to grooming and school supplies to 100 wheelchairs for St. Vincent's. You haven't experienced exasperation until the heartless commercial airline with one of the only flights to Haiti, charges a $600. extra baggage fee for one wheelchair traveling to Port au Prince on an empty plane.
I want you to see, that your dime, your $10. will be greatly appreciated.
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| Tom helped raise money to send 100 wheelchairs to St. Vincent's |
Tom and Shawn are getting ready to leave for Camp Jake, taking supplies with them for St. Vincent's. There is always time to donate. Not enough money was raised this year, but Tom and Shawn could not disappoint the children and cancel.
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| Let's add a few blogger donations to the equation! |
So I am asking all of us design bloggers to help them out
HERE.
Alberto and I made a donation using the link. In the box marked special instructions I asked that the donation be given to Camp Jake.
Thanks!
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http://thevisualvamp.blogspot.com
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