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Hooksett fourth-graders find help for poor families

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:02:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

In a crowded lunchroom on a cold January afternoon, an unlikely conversation was struck among a group of 10-year-old girls in the Memorial School lunchroom in Hooksett.

The fourth-graders spoke about how families in wartorn countries worried each day about food and water – a weighty topic for elementary school students.

“We said there are people in war torn countries who are thinking, ‘Am I going to have food and water?’” recalled Kathryn Dwyer.

And, in an instant, Kathryn’s four friends, Brianna Brennan, Amelia Royal, Amelia Wettengel and Holly Darby, decided they were going to try to help.

A fundraiser called Power of the Penny was brainstormed with the help of Principal Carol Soucy, and the girls set out to raise $250 by selling trail mix to their friends at lunch. All the proceeds were to be donated to two charities – an international group called Re-Invent the Future, an international organization that provides food and water to individuals in war-torn countries; and UpReach, a therapeutic riding clinic that services disabled children in New Hampshire.

“We were talking about how the government is talking about not making pennies anymore,” said Holly. “I said I think we should do a fundraiser for this because we have so much extra money that’s sitting around the house and Amelia and Brianna were like, ‘Yeah, that’s a great idea!’”

So, the five friends got to work.

Soucy said the group spent their recess and free time for weeks working to make fliers, write announcements and prepare bags of trail mix in the cafeteria to sell to the school.

“They have really thought a lot about their concern for others – that’s what really drove them,” said Soucy. “It’s been remarkable how deeply they thought about these world issues. They were very, very energized and they worked so well together.”

In the end, the girls ended up raising $313.08. Kathryn said the response to their efforts from the school faculty and their friends was overwhelming.

“Somebody brought in a $20 bill,” she said. “It’s amazing what spare change can do.”

For Julia – Hooksett dad Tom Shepherd runs to raise money for Children’s Hospital

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:21:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

For one man in Hooksett, running is more than a good cardio workout.

Tom Shepherd is training to run the New York City Marathon on Nov. 4 and he’s running for a cause.

“Miles For Miracles” is a 28-member team of area runners who came together to raise money for Children’s Hospital in Boston.

Shepherd joined the team in March after getting some inspiration from his boss, who ran the 200-mile “Courage Classic” in Colorado to benefit Children’s Hospital in Denver.

Shepherd’s motivation comes from his 7-year-old daughter, Julia, who at age 5 was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare disorder that prevented her bone marrow from replenishing red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

At the time, the Shepherds were living in New Jersey and were in the process of moving to their new home in Hooksett.

Shepherd’s wife, Liz, took their daughter to the doctors one day for a routine checkup. They were also concerned about some bruises that Julia had, which her parents attributed to sledding the weekend before, which were strange looking.

When Liz Shepherd picked her daughter up to put her on the examination table, she left hand print bruises on the little girl’s sides.

“You could see the criss-crosses where the shoe laces had been on her feet,” said Liz Shepherd.

The doctor recognized the bruising as petechiae, or popped capillaries, a condition that accompanies a variety of ailments.

Blood tests showed that Julia had no platelets, which enable clotting. Further investigation, including a bone marrow biopsy, revealed that she had aplastic anemia.

The Shepherds began talking with Children’s in Boston about options, since they would soon move to the area.

Julia went through immunosuppressive therapy at Children’s, which worked well enough to attend kindergarten in September of 2005.

Tom Shepherd said his daughter has lived a regular kid’s life since her treatments ended in January of this year.

“She was amazing about it,” he said. “She probably did better than we did.”

The Shepherds said their daughter has done well in school, academically and socially.

“She’s a very social creature,” said Liz Shepherd.

Today, Julia Shepherd takes dance classes, plays piano and is also a soccer player.

She said she is not afraid to fall and injure herself in soccer because her platelets are at normal levels now.

“I know if I start crying, I still gotta keep playing,” she said.

Shepherd has been training all summer, and every day he gets one step closer to his personal sponsorship goal of raising $10,000.

To date, the Children’s Hospital “Miles for Miracles” team has raised over $100,000.

The Shepherds are hosting a “Miles” fundraiser at Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. Local artist Chad Perrone of the band Averi will perform, and tickets cost $20.

For more information about “Miles for Miracles” or to donate to the cause, visit www.giving.childrenshospital.org.

To view Tom Shepherd’s blog about his training tribulations or to donate to his “Miles” sponsorship fund, go to www.squirrelsnest.net/wordpress.

Help Girl Scouts with receipts and searches

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:45:00 GMT

You can help the more than 100 Hooksett girls who are involved in Girl Scouts by saving Shaw’s receipts as well as using the Internet.

Receipts

Shaw’s has introduced a Rewards Receipt Program that will give cash back to Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council. Ask friends and supporters to save their Shaw’s and Star receipts.

GSSWC collects those receipts and sends them in to Shaw’s. The Scouts will receive 1 percent cash back of the register receipts submitted.

There is no time limit on the register receipts collected or cash back – the sky’s the limit!

You can mail receipts to:GSSWC, P.O. Box 10832, Bedford, NH 03110-0832.

Internet searches

GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it’s powered by
Yahoo!

Go to www.goodsearch.com and type “Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council” as the charity you want to support. Just 500 people searching four times a day will raise about $7,300 in a year without anyone spending a dime.