A Young Woman’s Story of Hope and Determination
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Date:12/25/09
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A Young Woman’s Story of Hope and Determination
I would like to share with you a story of an amazing young lady and the power of faith combined with hard work and determination. My grandfather always said that “all things cometh to he who waiteth if he worketh his butt off while he waiteth”. Well, grandpa’s theory proved true for Maria and her daughter Barbie.
Maria called me at Treasure Aisles on September 9, 2009. We had never met, and although she had been an infrequent vendor in the outdoor market, she did not know me. Maria explained that her daughter had been battling the effects of cerebral palsy since she was a baby and was graduating from Butler Tech JVS in June. Through-out her school years Barbie was able to get public assistance in the form of help in getting on and off buses, getting through doorways, and getting to classes; the kind of basic help that would soon enable her to acquire a high school diploma. However, upon graduation all aid will cease. Barbie’s dream is to become a wildlife biologist and work at Yellowstone Park. In order to continue advancing with her life, Maria explained, Barbie needs a service dog to help her with physical tasks, provide companionship, and help to open doors of opportunity as Barbie begins college and enters the workforce. They had contacted 4 Paws for Ability, the service dog training center, and discovered that the cost of the animal would be $13,000. Maria asked if she could place several collection boxes around the market to try and raise money for the cause. The market policy is to not allow collection boxes, but I was truly touched by the story and agreed to meet with Maria and Barbie the next day to discuss if there was some way we could help.
I was delighted to meet Barbie who with the aid of a walker and a ton of grit, is fiercely determined to be independently mobile despite the limited use of her legs and feet. We talked at length about strategies for acquiring the necessary funds. We talked about getting a registered non-profit organization (which the dog kennel turned out to be) behind the project to make donors feel comfortable and give them a safe place to send their contributions. We also talked about ways to get the media involved in order to attract donations from a large pool of people. We agreed to keep each other informed of any developments or ideas.
Maria did not stop knocking at just one door. She knocked on several doors including that of a local business woman who owns a chain of Mexican restaurants through-out the Cincinnati area. This owner was also leery about allowing collection boxes at her establishments, as well as touched by the story and wanted to help. That weekend she was holding a party for some friends and invited Maria to come and meet a Catholic Priest, Father Jorge from Hamilton, with the hope that he might encourage his congregation to assist with the project. Due to their efforts, the next week Barbie’s story appeared on the front page of the La Vanguardia Hoy newspaper which is distributed at over a hundred locations from Springfield, Ohio to Florence, Kentucky. The newspaper staff also placed a collection box at each business where the newspaper is distributed. Donations began to accumulate.
In mid-November, Maria stopped by the market and said that they had collected nearly $4,000 so far and she was doing some karaoke singing to help raise additional money. She had done some performing when she was a young girl, but had not sung professionally for over 25 years. She brought along a CD with some of her music and after listening to it I asked her if she would care to appear on our stage and do a benefit performance. I was not surprised when she said “Yes”. We set a date for the Sunday before Christmas, which allowed her several weeks to prepare. La Vangaurdia Hoy distributed posters advertising the performance.
Here is where things really took off! Maria did not disappoint. She and some friends came to the market Saturday evening the night before the performance and decorated the stage. They did a super job giving the stage a southwestern flair with flowers, banners, and Mexican flags. On Sunday Maria danced and sang for nearly 4 hours while customers filled her tip jar when they learned what the money would be used for. Over $450 was raised for Barbie from her performance. And then a miracle happened at the Flea Market!
Enter Santa Claus. As I said, it was the Sunday before Christmas and the market was honored with the presence of Santa, who was on hand to take pictures with the children and do the traditional ‘Ho Ho Ho’. It just so happens that this particular Santa moonlights as a reporter during the week for the Middletown USA and the Main Street Monroe Websites. I wish you could have seen the looks on Maria’s and Barbie’s faces when I told them that Santa Claus wanted to interview them and do a story for the Websites. The next day the story was posted online. Before the day was over, Santa (Randy Lewis) got a call from Channel 5 TV reporter, Karin Johnson, who had seen his post and wanted to do an interview with Randy, Maria, and Barbie. The story ran on Channel 5 News three times over the next two days and contributions poured in. Bill Deimling, president of Deimling/jeliho Plastics in Amelia, Ohio called and offered to donate the entire remaining balance which was a little over $7,000. Barbie would have her dog!!!
I talked with Barbie last night. She said the dog kennel is in the process of training five dogs for her which is standard procedure. The dog that performs the best and is the best fit for her will become her constant companion. The training process takes several months and shortly after she graduates from high school in June she will spend 2 weeks at a local hotel getting acquainted with her new service animal under the supervision of the dog’s trainers. She is excited by her prospects and we wish her well. She is a bright and beautiful young lady who has overcome adversity and is determined to succeed.
Don Boldt, General Manager
Treasure Aisles
P.S. Maria told me that in less than four months over $20,000 has been donated to the 4 Paws for Ability Kennel in Xenia, Ohio in Barbie’s name. All funds above the cost of Barbie’s dog will go toward the support of the facility and will be applied to the costs for other individuals in need of service dogs.
Read News Story from Middletown USA at the following link:
http://www.middletownusa.com/view_news.asp?a=4805
View News Story from WLWT Channel 5 at the following link:
http://www.wlwt.com/video/22038909/index.html
Read the Author's (Randy Lewis) Forum from Main Street Monroe at the following link:
http://www.treasure-aisles.com/contents/NewsDetails.aspx?mode=new
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