Let's Play Concert Planning

I never thought it could work. Never, did I ever think I could pull this off. Who knew a few phone calls and emails would start something huge.

I’ve always been one to like volunteering and coming up with new and different ideas to help out a good cause, especially Children’s Miracle Network. Every year, radio station 96.3 WDVD has a radio telethon to raise money for Beaumont Hospital’s Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Every year, I’ve wanted to donate and never had the chance. This year, I decided to do something huge – a benefit concert whose proceeds go directly to the cause.

Back in January, my friend and I came up with the idea to partner with the radio station and have them sponsor our concert. We sent some emails, not expecting a reply. We were ecstatic when we got an email back from the manager of sales at the station saying he’d love to meet with us and get this project going. After that first meeting, things really started to pick up. We contacted local bands that all agreed to play for free, but were also glad when 96.3’s Radio Café offered to showcase some of their acts.

A month later, we’re finalizing everything. We met with Mr. Archibald and he’s agreed to allow the concert to be in the field house. Clubs and other groups at SHS have the opportunity to sell refreshments to raise more money for the cause. We’re going to sell tickets at school and at the door and promote it like crazy at school and in the community. 96.3 is giving our cause free air time promotion, which is just what we need to draw a crowd. Just this week we had a surprise given to us – the chance to also partner with Radio Disney and bring Boo Boo Stewart from Twilight to the concert. Radio Disney also said they’d promote on air for us! This will help draw a much larger audience and raise even more money for our cause.

Our concert is set for April or May, because the telethon is on May 7th. The station invited us to come down for an interview when they broadcast from the hospital, and we’ll present our donation then. We’re hoping we can make a huge difference and make a huge donation to this amazing cause. Who knew three fourteen year olds could make something this big happen. Just goes to show you that with a little hard work and determination anyone can make a difference.

Two Families and a Giant

It started out like any other average day. The only difference: it was moving day. I was in 5th grade, and this was huge. We were moving to a new city with new surroundings, not knowing what to expect. I thought it was going to be just another day, but I thought wrong. We finished packing our belongings, loaded up the truck, got into our car, and off to the new house we went. As we were driving, it started to pour. The water was coming down so fast, the roads were flooding, the moving truck was carried away with the water, cars began to float, people were being dragged with the current down the road turned river. Before I knew it, I was in the air. Not flying, but just hanging hundreds of feet in the air.

We were still in the car, but around me was complete blue. I looked out the window and realized we were in the palm of a giant. He had appeared out of nowhere, picked up our car, and began to carry us away. I looked down and the road no longer looked as if it were part of a city. Marshy, green, areas covered the land around the road. I began to panic, and asked the giant who he was, and what exactly was going on. He said his name was Theodore and he was taking us to his home not too far away.

We traveled for what seemed like forever, until our car, now covered in mud, had arrived at Theodore’s quaint little dwelling. It was small for someone of that size, but definitely didn’t look like your traditional home. It was a dome shaped, stone house. The door was pale orange, and paint was peeling all around. Weeds had overtaken the front yard, and dead trees towered over the entry- way. He pulled us out of our car, one by one, and sat us down on a log bench by the door. At this point, I was quite scared. Theodore seemed like a nice guy, but his size drove deep fear into my mind. My dad was the first to speak up; he asked what he wanted from us. It was silent. I spoke next, asking why he had brought us here. He stared at each of us with a straight face and finally spoke. He told us how his home was falling apart, and when he came to the city, he wanted a house just like the ones there. When he saw us following the moving truck, he decided to follow us for a little while, then take us to his home. He kindly asked us if he could move in with us so he could live in the city. After contemplating this decision, my parents agreed to help him out. This still didn’t answer the question of why the streets had flooded, and swamps had taken over the land around them. We asked Theodore, and he simply stated that he did that to get attention. He overflowed his bathtub, filled up his watering can, and poured it over the entire city – just so he could get a new home to live in.

We headed back to the main roads, and Theodore walked us to our new house. My dad promised Theodore a small home in the backyard for him to live. When we arrived, we introduced ourselves to the neighbors. Across the street were the Wilsons. Having a giant with us definitely drew attention, but that attention was a first impression and memory that would draw our two families closer than you could imagine. Even today, our families are almost like one, and to think that Theodore the giant helped bring us that close. That day was anything than ordinary. Not only did we meet a giant, but we also met our best friends. Thank you, Theodore.

Missionary Trip Ends in Jail Time

The US missionaries should be charged for child abduction in Haiti.

Ten American Baptist missionaries attempted to take 33 Haitian children across the border to a supposed orphanage in the Dominican Republic. Although Haiti has just been stricken with disaster, not everyone was left homeless and without families. Some of these children had living parents, but the Americans insisted on taking them to the orphanage with no government approval. These children should not have been removed from their families, regardless of the government’s consent. The Americans had no right in taking these children for reasons they claimed had good intentions. The Haitian government has been shaken around due to the recent disaster and law enforcement has been weak. This being a major issue, several court hearings have taken place, and others are scheduled to take place in the coming week.

Some may argue that these missionaries were doing what was right for the good of the children. As Americans, we tend to think that what we feel is right, is right. We feel that we shouldn’t be punished in other places for our potential wrong doings. Just because our country has global power doesn’t mean we can kidnap Haitian children because they would seem to be better off in an orphanage. As quoted by the families of the missionaries in the New York Times article by Marc Lacey, “…those who were recruited to join this mission traveled tot Haiti to help, not hurt, these children.” Whether their motive was good or not, these men and women should be prosecuted as if the crime was committed in the United States. In conclusion, these missionaries should not have attempted to rescue these Haitian children.