[nfbwatlk] Fw: Making a mark

[KAYE KIPP]

That's good.  I like that.

Kaye
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Albert Sanchez" <albertsanchez at suddenlink.net>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 12:54 PM
Subject: [nfbwatlk] Fw: Making a mark


> Read and enjoy, A.S.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 4:58 PM
> Subject: Making a mark
>
>
>>
>>
>> Making a mark
>>
>> Sunday, October 26, 2008 12:39 AM EDT
>>
>> PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ask Jamie Moyer about Camp Erin and he loses it.
>>
>> He gets teary and chokes up while talking about the bereavement camps he
>> helped start for children who have lost loved ones.
>>
>> Then listen to the kids themselves. It's easy to understand why the
>> Philadelphia pitcher becomes so emotional.
>>
>> Matthew Leist and his younger sister, Tristana, are among the thousands 
>> who
>> have benefited from the network of 18 camps around the country set up by 
>> Moyer
>> and his wife, Karen.
>>
>>
>> On July 4, 2003, the Leists lost their mother, Victoria, to cancer.
>>
>> "After my mom died, I kind of went into a blank mode. Nothing else really
>> mattered anymore," said Matthew, who was 9 at the time. "When I went to 
>> Camp
>> Erin and I got a chance to meet other kids who can relate, it was 
>> amazing.
>> It's like I was in this darkness and Camp Erin lit everything up."
>>
>> Matthew, who lives near Seattle, celebrates his 15th birthday Saturday - 
>> the
>> same night the 45-year-old Moyer was set to make his long-awaited debut 
>> in
>> the World Series, starting against Tampa Bay in Game 3.
>>
>> Leist knew exactly what to wish for.
>>
>> "The Moyers have helped us out so much and they're such nice people that 
>> the
>> best present for me would be for him to win that game and have him and 
>> his
>> family celebrate," Matthew said.
>>
>> Tristana called the experience at Camp Erin "practically indescribable."
>>
>> "It opened my eyes and let me know I'm not the only person who lost a 
>> loved
>> one," the 11-year-old said.
>>
>> The camps were named for Erin Metcalf, a teenager the Moyers met through 
>> the
>> Make-A-Wish Foundation in 1998 while Jamie played for the Seattle 
>> Mariners.
>>
>> They spent a lot of time with the 15-year-old girl who had developed 
>> liver
>> cancer before she died in 2000. Two years later, the first Camp Erin in 
>> 2002
>> in Washington state.
>>
>> "Erin loved to help other kids," Karen Moyer said. "She's a special, 
>> special
>> teenager who lost her life. We wanted to honor her memory. It's really
>> empowering
>> for the children to be around others who have gone through the same
>> experience. Something magical always seems to happen at the camps and we 
>> truly
>> feel
>> Erin's presence in every camp."
>>
>> Children and teens participate in traditional camp activities, meet with 
>> grief
>> counselors and interact with peers experiencing similar sorrow at the 
>> weekend
>> gatherings.
>>
>> Matthew recalled canoeing and rock climbing, but one particular art 
>> activity
>> stood out most. The children made stars out of Styrofoam to represent 
>> their
>> loved one. They took the stars out to a lake, lit them and sat there
>> reflecting on their loss.
>>
>> "Of all the stars, mine and Tristana's were the only ones that stuck
>> together," Matthew said. "We felt like that was our mom reaching out and
>> touching
>> us. It made us feel better."
>>
>> Moyer spoke to waves of reporters for more than 20 minutes before the 
>> Phillies
>> played the Rays in Game 2, answering questions mostly dealing with 
>> baseball.
>>
>> Unflappable on the mound, he got a little wobbly talking about his first 
>> trip
>> to the Series, and how much it meant to make it with the team he grew up
>> rooting for in nearby Souderton, Pa.
>>
>> Still, it was nothing like how he gets when the subject is Camp Erin.
>>
>> "When you see the impact it can make on kids who haven't asked for what 
>> has
>> happened in their life, knowing there is a support group out there that 
>> can
>> help educate them and let them know that life will go on and they can 
>> remember
>> their loved one in a positive way, it really makes it all worthwhile," 
>> Moyer
>> said.
>>
>> Camp Erin is the largest network of bereavement camps in the country for
>> children.
>>
>> There are in 12 states and a camp opened in Philadelphia last year and 
>> another
>> started up in Tampa Bay this summer. The Moyers hope to eventually have
>> one in each major league city and plan to expand to 12 new cities in 
>> 2009.
>>
>> "Jamie has had a long journey in baseball and he's committed to every
>> community he played in," Karen Moyer said. "Camp Erin means a lot to the 
>> both
>> of
>> us. There are so many children that grieve the loss of a loved one. It's 
>> a
>> huge issue and it needs to be addressed."
>>
>> Moyer won baseball's Roberto Clemente Award in 2003 given to a player who
>> combines excellence on the field with community service. It's one of 
>> several
>> honors he's received that recognize his work off the field.
>>
>> Moyer turns 46 next month and would become the oldest pitcher to win a
>> postseason game if he beats Tampa Bay.
>>
>> "This is a great game and a great opportunity, but win or lose, life goes 
>> on,"
>> Moyer said. "When children have to deal with losing a loved one and they
>> don't know where to go and how to handle it, it's proven that if they 
>> don't
>> get the right guidance, they fall between the cracks.
>>
>> "So, in our small way, helping to turn this into something big, we're 
>> trying
>> to prevent kids from falling between those cracks and helping them grow 
>> and
>> learn and maybe as they grow up, they'll help someone else."
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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