Letter to the Editor - Winchester Star 9/8/05

The lady that works for the Red Cross and accepted James & Randall's donation last Sunday, wrote a letter to the editor in the Winchester Star in yesterday's paper - 9/8/05. I couldn't be more proud of my children, so I am sharing the article on here for everybody to see!

Generosity of Spirit

Reporting in for the Sunday shift to man the phones at the Red Cross building in Sunnyside for the disaster relief effort, I expected the time to go quickly, given how busy everyone had been all week.
An hour into my time there, I looked up and greeted a family of two boys, their parents, and an infant son asleep on their father's shoulder. The two boys came into the office proudly holding out a small cash box full of bills and coins.
With the prompting of their parents, James and Randall Beatley of Middletown declared that they had collected this money "to help the people in Louisiana" and had done so the day before in four hours time.
All of us at the Red Cross were so impressed with the young men's efforts and declared to them that we were very proud to accept the cash donation, helped along with the fine baking of their mother and their Dad's contribution of that weekend's beer fund.
It's a privilege to be a Red Cross volunteer, and in times of crises we get to see the very best qualities of our fellow citizens. James and Randall wanted to make sure that their friend, Kyle Koller, also got credit for raising the donation monies.
This Red Cross volunteer wants to make sure that these three young men and their parents are recognized for their generosity of spirit, selflessness and as role models for others (no matter their age or gender) in helping fellow Americans in need.

Helen Lake, Frederick County!

Thank you Helen for acknowledging my children for a deed so small in the scheme of things, but so big in our hearts! I hope your letter of encouragement makes them always remember what they have done and helps them to want to do more like it as they grow older!

Hurricane Katrina Relief

I am so proud of the boys. We cleaned out our vacation fund that we just started saving after we got back from North Carolina and got $30 and then JC gave me his last $5 from his wallet. I also got a donation from my co-worker Patricia of $5, so we had a total of $40 before this morning. The boys had a bake sale at their friend, Kyle's mom's yardsale, and earned $91. We are going to the Winchester/Frederick County American Red Cross tomorrow to donate a little bit more than $131. They did wonderful, set in the hot sun for several hours, and even went door to door knocking and asking for donations. How proud I am!! Also, much thanks to Patricia for her donation and to Jennifer for her donation and also for letting us come and have a great place to sit up the snacks and lemonade. There was also a girl in the neighborhood on skates who skated up and down the road with the sign asking for donations and in some cases even delivering the baked goods after they were purchased! Our hearts and minds are with the good people of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama!