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Went to see viewing of Keith Beauchamp's civil rights documentary tonight. Took this photo w/my decrepit phone.

LOUISIANA YOUNG HEROES COMPETITION UNDERWAY

A lot of attention is given to the young people who get into trouble or underachieve in school, but often the students who do exceptionally well in the classroom or make a huge difference in their community do not receive the recognition they deserve. That’s why LPB and the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge created the Louisiana Young Heroes Awards. Now in its 15th year, the awards honor students in grades 7-12 who have excelled in the classroom, have served their community or have shown great courage in overcoming adversity in their own lives.

Nominations are now being taken for the 2010 Louisiana Young Heroes Awards. Students must be enrolled in a Louisiana school or homeschooled and cannot be older than 19 years of age.

Some of our previous Young Heroes have overcome physical handicaps, raised money for charity, cared for family members, assisted hurricane victims, and even saved lives.

Nomination forms can be downloaded from the LPB website (www.lpb.org/heroes) or filled out on the online form. Letters of recognition and other supporting materials should be sent to support the nomination. Students who have been nominated in past years may be re-nominated for this year’s awards. Previous winners are not eligible. The deadline for entries is Friday, February 5, 2010.

Young Heroes Day will be April 21, 2010. The Young Heroes will be treated to a day full of activities including lunch on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion. The day will culminate in a banquet that night at the Crowne Plaza in Baton Rouge.

The awards are co-presented by the Baton Rouge Rotary Club and underwritten by Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge. Inc. and ExxonMobil.

If you have questions contact Margaret Schlaudecker at (225) 767-4276 or toll free at (800) 272-8161, ext. 4276 or mschlaudecker@lpb.org.

Kairos Weekend Part 2 (or the birth of Francine)

The weekend was a blast although it can wear ya down. I was thinking as I tried to get out of bed this morning that perhaps I should have taken an extra day off from work just to rest and recuperate. I am so thankful that two of the ladies stayed behind at the hotel with me to help with some of the agape duties before they went to help at the prison's culinary school kitchen.



The prayer chain on Thursday night was most involved. In the past I have had to get a physical chain ready with blanks for names and times written in. Each team member was given a two-hour block of prayers to collect from church members, friends, etc. I would have to go on line or email my friends in South Africa and Ireland whom I have met via this ministry and ask them to take our wee hours of the morning slots that are the middle of the day for them. Ultimately, the guys on the team would forget their chains, have them partly filled or just not do them. This time, I had the chain on line at 3dayol.org. It made for the most complete chain we had ever had. I took my net book and a little printer and I was able to download the prayer chain from the web site and print it on colored paper at the hotel. Two other sisters helped cut them out and we stapled together 468 links n the prayer chain. If it had not been for them I would have been up half the night trying to cut and staple the chain.



The other way, the men cut and staple their own assigned parts of the chain but I don't always get all the parts. This way every prayer is accounted for.



The purpose of the chain is for it to be a visible representation to the inmate participants of the prayers that are being lifted up in their behalf during the 3 1/2-day weekend. With an orderly chain they can walk up to the chain and see who is praying at that particular hour. They are overwhelmed by this to be sure.



On Fridays I get the agape bags ready. We have collected items from all over for those bags. I will not say what except to say that when you are asked, it's a cool thing to do. i don't want to spoil the surprise in case there is someone who may receive such a bag at a similar spiritual walk. When the guys leave the prison on Friday night they load the bags with their letters. Some of them are up half the night. I give them until Saturday morning before they leave for the prison to get their items in the bags. Saturday morning I have to get them taped up, grouped into table families and bagged by table family in jumbo trash bags. Then I get to take them up to the prison by 10AM.



This time, as I came to the prison gates on Saturday morning, my name was not on the gate pass. One of the security ladies remembered me from the last time I was on a team so she had her partner take my license and call to the back where they were holding the workshop. By the time the message got back there, through telephone wires and radios,my first name had become garbled into "Francine." My husband was asked if he knew anyone with that name and of course he said, "Never heard of 'em."



The ladies in the culinary school kitchen were called and my good friend the head cook said, "Well, that is Kathy's last name but maybe that is her middle name. But, yes we are expecting a lady with that last name."



At any rate I was allowed to drive back of Main Prison Complex to the culinary school with my garbage bags. "Franceeeeeeen is in the house!" I said when I arrived. Among by kitchen friends I am now Francine with extra emphasis on the "eeeeen." One cannot say a simple Francine. It has to be said in just that way---or I do not answer. Perhaps I will start another blog for that alter ego and include just the right amount of Es in the title which is at least 3.


Saturday evening is the most relaxed day. I was able to stay at the culinary school with the ladies and the two residents who man the culinary school kitchen for a couple of hours. The two culinary school residents are lovely, soft spoken guys who love it when the Kairos ladies come. We had lunch after the workshop lunch was taken over to the guys and then a few minutes to play the spoon game. Then it was back to work at the hotel for Franceeen!



Saturday night is the best! That's when we get to hear the reflections of the new people on the team. I took plenty of pictures which I intend to share with the team on either flicker or Kodak. I have a special surprise for Morris, our team leader. At any rate, the leader is given a plaque and we all share the wonderment of the Holy Spirit as we witness it over the weekend.

Then we get ready for Sunday!



Well, I have used two breaks to write this much. Part 3 at a later time.

Cortical Visual Impairments-Parents' Group

For those with children with CVI you might want to check out this group a parent is just starting.
http://social.kidspot.com.au/1391/0/Health/cortical-visual-impairment-and-blindness-

Mrs. Kathy
Visual Impairments Specialist

New technology to save vision (The Courier-Mail Article)

If you're having trouble viewing this article, click here to view it in your browser.

The Courier-Mail

Ms. Kathy"s Kids Blog, Ms. Kathy thought you might find this article from news.com.au/couriermail/ interesting:

Check out this article!

New technology to save vision

From: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

November 14, 2009

IT'S the Queensland medical breakthrough that could save some of our most vulnerable infants from a life of darkness.

In an Australian first, neonatal nurses at Brisbane's Mater Mothers' Hospital are using hi-tech camera equipment to photograph the eyes of premature babies, to identify a debilitating condition which can lead to blindness.

When a baby is born early, the normal development of the retina is interrupted, which can result in Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP).

Click here to read the full article on the website

Alternatively, you can copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26350950-3102,00.html

Article from West Central Tribune

You have been sent this article from Ms. Kathy


Blind learn mobile phone details
Don Davis - 11/14/2009

ST. PAUL — Torrey Westrom gave Lissa Thies a simple request: learn the basics of using his mobile telephone. His Motorola Q is a typical smartphone, capable of surfing the Web, sending and receiving e-mails and handling text messages, besides being used as a telephone. Even to the most technically inclined, the nearly 50 keys are intimidating. To a blind person such as Westrom, the task becomes many times tougher. "I'm probably weeks or months away from fully using the keyboard," admitted Westrom, an Elbow Lake Republican member of the Minnesota House who keeps up with legislation on computers adapted for use by the blind. Thies was among AT&T workers who Thursday and Friday helped more than 100 blind and visually impaired Minnesotans learn more about their mobile phones, from any carrier, at the Minnesota State Services for the Blind in St. Paul. It is the type of program that Westrom, the state's only blind legislator, has supported for others. This time, however, he had questions about how to use his Verizon telephone. Perhaps the most important advice Thies offered was a "get out of jail button," which returned Westrom to the home screen where he could start over. Thies, who works at AT&T Wireless' Woodbury Lakes store, at times took Westrom's finger and put it on the right button, so he could find the key later. The one-on-one help is essential for the visually impaired to learn how to use telephones, AT&T Minnesota President Bob Bass said. "They don't know what the options are," he added. For Minnesotans who could not attend the Thursday and Friday help sessions, there are options. Larry Lewis of Ohio-based Flying Blind, a company that uses technology to help the disabled, said telephone software is available to allow a phone to speak to its user, replacing the screen that sighted people use. Another program can magnify the screen for people who have partial vision. Some who are blind just want to know how to make and receive calls. But others, like Lewis, want to make full use of their telephones. Lewis, totally blind, has more than 1,100 contacts on his smartphone, which he uses by listening to a computerized voice and moving a joy stick on the phone. "I listen to the icons and press 'enter,'" he said. Lewis said only about 2,000 of the 1.5 million blind Americans use mobile phone software made for them. AT&T officials said the best thing blind people can do is to contact their local wireless provider office and set up an appointment for some one-on-one training or to contact the state-run Services for the Blind. Bass said AT&T employees provide such training because "it's a quality of life issue." Thies said the Woodbury Lakes store has no blind customers, but some with hearing problems. The company has a toll-free telephone number for disabled people with questions about wireless service. A telephone that allows a user to use voice commands is the best type of telephone for the blind, Thies said. Many phones offer that function. Westrom said he received some over-the-phone training, but it did not stick. "It's a lot better hands on." As Thies went through the options, she quickly passed over one. But Westrom wanted to know what it was. It allows the user to attach photos to telephone numbers, she replied, a bit sheepishly. "That wouldn't do me a lot of good," deadpanned Westrom, known for delivering an occasional joke about his blindness on the House floor. Back to the phone, Westrom finished adding a number for his father. Thies was happy. "You did it," she exclaimed, as happy was Westrom about the accomplishment.

Kairos Weekend (part one)

It works!

I'm in the middle of my duties as the agape chief for Kairos Prison Ministry at Louisiana State Penitentiary for men at Angola. The men on the team go inside the prison and give a 3 1/2-day workshop to 42 residents on the love of Christ.

Inmates are used to people coming into the prison, thumping the Bible at them, telling them they are such sinners and then leaving. Kairos is a different type of ministry where the volunteers become the Bible and they demonstrate the Bible by becoming its hands and feet.

We have a special cook team who remain outside of the workshop. My friend Juanita has a gift for cooking large amounts of home cookin'-style food. We had a lady who cooked fancy gourmet stuff but the best for the ministry is to cook food that reminds them of home. Since this is south Louisiana, that may include fried chicken, barbecue, jambalaya and white beans, banana pudding and the like. There may also be men on the outside team who help with cooking or running the food from the outside kitchen to the workshop. Women's teams are just the opposite.The men stay outside and cook while the women go inside and do the workshop hands-on.

My job during these weekends is to handle agape. These are physical items that remind the prison residents that people are thinking about them and praying for them and that God loves them. I start a few weeks before we start having team meetings, which are six to eight weeks before the team goes to the prison. I go to the national web site and let other Kairos groups know that we need prayer and wall agape. Wall agape are posters from Kairos groups that are posted as greetings on the walls during the special workshop. I also make a kit for each team member so that they can collect prayers, cookies and money for the special weekend workshop.

In the past, local churches allow us to use their facilities. The Ladies have even used the kitchen of a nearby school and the hotel's old abandoned kitchen. Now the warden allows us to use the culinary school kitchen at main prison. They love this. It leaves me behind to coordinate agape at the hotel but when I'm done I get to go to the culinary school, too. I also stay behind on Sunday to greet guests and coordinate our convoy of vehicles up to the prison for the closing ceremony.

My husband, whom I met in this ministry, is usually the music leader. He has been so tired when he comes in that he goes right to the hotel room and conks out like a brick. He has not been sleeping well, lately because his daughter is sick and that has been on his mind. He has slept better and far more here each night than he has at home.

Speaking of sleep, I'd better get my nap in while I can. I will post more on what's happening here later tonight or tomorrow.

Prayer Vigil

More Options for Glaucoma Patients

Ms. Kathy wrote.. Article attached

Ms. Kathy is sharing this article with you. Click the link below to read the article.

More Options Now Available for Glaucoma Patients

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=521756

Tarred

Tarred (adj.): in some southern dialects a synonym for exhausted.

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Banana Facts

Wow! I need to stop on the way to work and get some bananas! I have been telling my husband fruit is better for breakfast than the greasy stuff. A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression "going bananas" is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Read on: Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!! This is interesting. After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.. Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet. Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier. PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood. Anemia : High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia. Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke. Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert. Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives. Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system. Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief. Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation. Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system. Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips... Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.. Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach. Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan. Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal. Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance.. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack. Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%! Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape! So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!" PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit !!!

mcdonald's rap

Thanks Brian. I'm going to share this on my blog and facebook page http://www.kathyskids.org Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/ --- On Thu, 11/5/09, Brian wrote: From: Brian Subject: mcdonald's rap To: AuntKathy Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 10:15 PM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5H7IYPw40Q&feature=related

Scholarships and Grants for Students Who are Blind or Visually Impaired

More Day

Ms. M Cut up today in her class. The para informed me that she has been misbehaving quite a bit. I think half the time she has no idea what is going on so she compensates by being a little Hitler with the other children...and sometimes the adults, too.

I love visiting that class. Preschool and Kindergarten teachers have a knack for herding cats and it's fun to see them and their children in action.

I need to work on more letter writing template cards. I just finished some braille flash cards for Mr. J. He is really showing he understands a lot! When I was about to leave he wanted to go with me today. His teacher pretended to cry and he started smiling about that. Then she told him to show me to the door and he did just that! The whole room cheered. He was really ready to leave with me. His teacher told him that I will be back tomorrow.

He is showing me body parts on request as I ask if I can tickle them. He particularly likes having his tummy and neck tickled. Most of the time he will show them to me if I ask. I am going to make braille labels for the class and whole word flashcards because he is showing just how much he understands. His teacher, who was at such a loss when he arrived is now showing me how well he follows directions. She will ask him to throw away paper, find his best friend ( little girl in a wheelchair), line up for lunch, wash hands,etc. and he will do them. He still isn't talking, though.

What i have learned in 33 years is that children like him will sometimes talk up a blue streak one day when they are ready. Sometimes they do not. But we should never underestimate them or assume it is fruitless to teach certain things to them. That is why I am opting to make braille available to him.

Meanwhile, the BoxCutta, who has been MIA for two days was back in school today with a flash drive full of viruses. The new school interface and virus software in the network does not allow us to access erasing the bug. I have to warn his dad this evening in an email. His teacher is taking the flash home to scan it on his home computer and try to delete the bug.

I also went to Mr. B's school and he was sitting out at recess. He was so tired that he was resting by the para in a wheelchair. His legs get a little tired sometimes but he is ambulatory. When I came along to talk to him he found energy from somewhere and decided I should accompany him to the slide. I talked to his new teacher, whom he says he likes, but he misses his old teacher who just retired in the middle of October. I told her about the paper I brought for enlarging his work and that I would find more practice work for him.

He's another old soul--wanting me to come wrestle with him and a classmate. Finally a classmate came to get him to play, which I encouraged.

Mr. Hebrews is typing so well with one hand. I wish he could use a braille writer. I am making an Intellitools lesson to go with his ABC overlay for Intellikeys. He has had trouble with a few of the single letter whole words. Sometimes he can't recognize them unless I give him verbal dot clues like "What letter is dots 1, 3 and 4?" Then he knows its M which stands for "more."

I have given him a regular cane since he's walking straighter. He needs a much longer one since he likes to go fast and his CP has him hunched over. He knows the whole school but he needs more practice walking alone and using protective measures for that head. He loves going up and down the halls.

Yesterday he showed me he can get to three areas of the school without retracing back to the same spot. I asked him to take me to the cafeteria, the library and to my room. He remembered all three and went to each, one after the other. Then we listened to the buildings by going out to the middle of the playground to clap and here the sound bounce off the building. I spun him around a few times then told him to clap and listen to the building talk back. He pointed right to where the echo came from!

Tomorrow he is looking forward to a new toy I told him about for after he has completed some reading. We are to be observed by the principal tomorrow so I know he will do well.

Study refutes link between central retinal artery occlusion and neovascular glaucoma

Study refutes link between central retinal artery occlusion and neovascular glaucoma

Prayers Needed for Kairos!

We need more names added to our prayer vigil chain at this link: http://www.3dayol.org/Vigil/GetVigil.phtml?pvid=3859&commid=1462 Pray that our Kairos Prison Ministry weekend workshop goes well. Pray for traveling grace up to the hotel and back and forth to/from the prison and for the 42 resident guests to have a God-breathed experience. Thanks!

Ms. K

I'm Finding Stuff Again

There's been lots of paper work and two IEP's to attend so I have not been able to author posts like I really want to. I have photos of somethings I have been adapting for use with my kids. Some of these I make and others I "make into." hee hee!


I have a toy tester at my home school where my little "office" is . After he has done his work he searches my shelves for toys. When he approves then it's good. You'll see him in a photo "toy testing." I used one where his face is not really clear so you won't go looking for him on Main Street. {:^D}



I found this learning mat in a Dollar General for only $15. Here's a photo of the box which shows how it's used. There are some adhesive rubber disks in the package but the directions don't say what they're for. Anyway the surface of the toy is smooth so I am trying some 3D paint on key areas for the blind.
This is what the toy looks like out of the bag. if you look close up, I have painted raised lines around the colored letters and panels. I'm leaving it there on the floor over the weekend to dry. Knowing my "Toy Tester" he will probably try to peel all of it off the first time he tries to play with it if it doesn't feel right. My braille writer is on the blink so I can't stick braille letters and colors on the spots right now. We get leftover braille writers when we work with the multi-disabled kids. But that's a soap box for another time. Don't get me started!

This is the 3D paint by the company that makes Elmer's glue.

This is a leap frog toy called "Fridge Farm Animal Magnets." I paid only $5 for it at a garage sale. It plays music and has a couple of sound effect puzzle games. One game involves matching the animal halves and another involves mixing them up to make silly combinations. I thought I'd braille the animal parts but my toy tester showed me I don't need it. He has already memorized what the pig feels like and loves to make a "pig-duck" to hear the silly song about a pig-duck.

I couldn't afford a big playground ball but Mr. Toy Tester has shown me that he likes this garage sale exercise ball. He can hear it when it bounces away because the bouncing sound from it echoes. It's tough enough for sitting on. Mr.Toy Tester likes to dribble this one, too. The only thing I don't like about it is it's color. I wish there was some way I could color it some bright fluorescent color. I had a student some years ago who could track a big orange playground ball against the green grass using some light perception.

This is an old poster I made maybe 10 years ago on fluorescent orange poster board to make my point to folks who had my low vision kids in their classes.

I made my own dry-erase board by gluing some bulletin board boarder around a ghost line poster. I laminated it and stuck it on a wooden bulletin board.

I had a toy phone that Toy Tester loved to borrow so I got this one for his birthday. I found it in Wal-Mart. It also plays music, has voices and teaches emergency numbers and home phone numbers. I stuck these braille numbers on it but they fell off in a day or so. He let me know they are not needed because he's already memorized where all the numbers and function buttons are located. He says he uses it to call girlfriends.

HumanWare Literacy Activities

Get your kids to participate in this!

Share your experience of the BrailleNote at school and you could win
This year the United States Mint offers 2009 Louis Braille Commemorative Coins. These coins honor the inventor of the Braille System of reading and writing used by the blind and visually impaired. They have been released in 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth.

HumanWare will draw 8 of these exceptional commemorative coins each month to students ages 8 to 18 years old. To participate, simply write a short essay on how the BrailleNote empowers your life at school - for your homework, math, Internet, book reading, and more!

8 coins to win each month!

Send us your essay along with the form below to participate
Draw ends December 31 2009

Legion Foundation Awards More Than $636K in Grants

Legion Foundation Awards More Than $636K in Grants

October 15, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The American Legion Child Welfare
Foundation, in its 55th year, has awarded $636,869 to 19 non-profit
organizations. These grants, determined during the annual meeting of the
Board of Directors, held at the Sheraton Hotel City Centre in
Indianapolis, Ind., on October 11, have been awarded to support
worthwhile projects through the dissemination of information to the
general public and specific target groups. The following is a brief
summary of the grants awarded for 2010:

American Legion Children's Home of Ponca City, Okla., was awarded
$41,000 for their project "American Legion Children's Home National
Awareness Initiative Phase II." This grant will support an endeavor to
increase the awareness of the American Legion Children's Home which was
established to support the children of veterans families by campaigning
to increase support and expand services to children in need. The
American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of The American Legion sponsor
this grant.

American Legion of Nevada of Las Vegas was awarded $3,037.25 for their
project "Hear Today - Learn Tomorrow (HT-LT)." This grant will: develop
and distribute letters requesting discount services from medical
providers and hearing aid manufactures for participants in the HT-LT
program, produce information sheets about the availability of support to
families of hearing impaired children, and produce public service
announcements related to HT-LT program.

Boys Scouts of America, Exploring Program Denver was awarded $35,717 for
their project "Experience 9 to 5." This grant will produce 12,000 course
catalogs, 31,200 flyers and 90 posters associated with the Experience 9
to 5 program.

Childhood Leukemia Foundation of Brick, N.J., was awarded $48,000 for
their project "Hope Binders." This grant will print and ship 1,600 Hope
Binders to 160 hospitals nationwide to be given to families facing the
diagnosis of childhood cancer. The American Legion Auxiliary sponsors
this grant.

Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD) of Norfolk, Va.,
$30,050 for their project "A Guide to Chest Wall Deformities in
Children: Info. for parents, patients and physicians." This grant will
develop and distribute "A Guide to Chest Wall Deformities in Children:
Information for parents, patients and primary care physicians" as a
CD-ROM to better educate families and physicians. The Sons of The
American Legion sponsor this grant.

Children's Institute, Inc. of Rochester, NY was awarded $30,500 for
their project "Building Connections for Military Families through Play."
This grant will provide the DVD "Possibilities of Play: Building
Connections through Play" to schools and community agencies that work
with children and families in the military. The American Legion
Auxiliary sponsors this grant.

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation of Avon, Conn., was awarded
$16,744 for their project "Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Screening
Checklist for Medical Professionals." This grant will create a CdLS
Screening Checklist and distribute it nationally to 16,000 pediatric
offices.

Diabetes Education and Camping Association of Huntsville, Ala., was
awarded $25,000 for their project "‘Ready, View, Go' - Diabetes Camp
Web Training Project." This grant will produce diabetes training videos
that will prepare camp directors and staff how to handle diabetes issues
in a camp setting.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of New York, N.Y., was awarded
$39,500 for their project "I'm Aaron and I'm Bionic." This grant will
produce 4,000 DVDs that will educate teachers, classmates and friends
about the history of treatment for type 1 diabetes and the newest
innovation, the artificial pancreas. The American Legion Auxiliary
sponsors this grant.

Mercy Medical Airlift of Virginia Beach, Va., was awarded $45,700 fogrant will provide five modernized and updated websites and a full
social media presence providing full information dissemination to the
public and pediatric medical world regarding available charitable child
patient long-distance medical air transportation. The Sons of The
American Legion sponsors this grant.

The MY HERO Project of Laguna Beach, Calif., was awarded $28,872.50 for
their project "The MY HERO Report - Youth Edition, Volume Two." This
grant will research, produce and distribute training videos for students
to tell their own hero stories through video and filmmaking.

National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) of New York, N.Y., was
awarded $45,500 for their project "Empowering Parents to Advocate for
their Children with Learning Disabilities." This grant will revise and
enhance NCLD website to ensure parents of children with learning
disabilities are aware of their children's rights and inform parents
that they can advocate for them.

National Exchange Club Foundation of Toledo, Ohio, was awarded $25,000
for their project "Child Abuse Prevention Kits." This grant will
produce, print and distribute 1,000 Child Abuse Prevention kits, expand
and enhance website and purchase promotional items.

National Reye's Syndrome Foundation of Bryan, Ohio, was awarded $38,200
for their project "Reye's Syndrome/Influenza Awareness School Mailing."
This grant will mail postcards to 131,377 schools across the U.S.,
directing school nurses and health care givers to the website to
download handouts, brochures, bookmarks, literature, list of products
containing aspirin and wellness information and distribute it to
students to take home to parents and caregivers. The American Legion
Auxiliary sponsors this grant.

PKS Kids of Florissant, Mo., was awarded $29,500 for their project
"Recognizing A Pallister-Killian Child." This grant will, through a
direct mail campaign, raise awareness of Pallister-Killian Syndrome by
50,000 pediatric doctors.

SADD, Inc. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) of Marlborough,
Mass., was awarded $54,549 for their project "SADD's Parents' Corner
Program." This grant will redesign the website and integrate a new
feature called the "Parents' Corner," which will offer practical advice,
tips and information to parents, teachers, school staff, coaches, summer
camp professions, and other caring adults to enhance adult/teen
communication. The Sons of The American Legion sponsors this grant.

Spina Bifida Association of Washington, D.C., was awarded $40,000 for
their project "Faces of Spina Bifida." This grant will product "Faces of
Spina Bifida," a social network for children with Spina Bifida designed
to facilitate peer-to-peer support.

Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc. of Bayside, N.Y., was awarded
$25,000 for their project "The Tourette Syndrome Youth Ambassador
Program: Kids Teaching Kids." This grant will create and produce
presentation kits to be used by Tourette Syndrome sufferers as they
educate a nation of children about what Tourette Syndrome is and is not.

Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Inc. (TAPS) of Washington,
D.C., was awarded $35,000 for their project "TAPS Children's Grief Kit
and Interactive Website." This grant will produce 5,000 Caisson
Horse/Comfort Book packages and website, for children who have lost a
parent serving in the military, to assist them understand their grief.
The Sons of The American Legion sponsors this grant.

Personal

My husband sent this oldie-goodie. It's a good reminder for each of us. --- On Thu, 10/15/09, David M wrote: To: YOU Date: TODAY From: GOD Subject: YOURSELF Reference: LIFE This is God. Today I will be handling All of your problems for you. I do Not need your help. So, have a nice day. I love you. P.S. And, remember... If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do Not attempt to resolve it yourself! Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. I will get to it in MY TIME. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours. Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now. If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege. Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.. Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return. Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children. Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk. Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine. Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity. Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them! Should you decide to send this to a friend; Thank you. You may have touched their life in ways you will never know! Now, you have a nice day...God