Archive for August 9th, 2012
Altruistic young seamstress
Nine-year-old sews for charity
Autumn Blinn from New York is only 9 years old, but she is proving to have a very generous and altruistic nature, as well as being an accomplished seamstress. Her grandfather, who is having dialysis, had trouble finding a suitable pillow to use during his treatment. He commented to Autumn that he liked the one she had made for herself, so she passed it on to him. This gave her an idea, and she began stitching more pillows, for donation to local hospitals and even further afield. So far, she has made around 100, and whenever possible she delivers them herself. Watch this short video:
Rez ANGELS
Generous teenager with Native American roots helps disadvantaged Lakota people.
Eighteen-year-old Alicia Fox – who was born in Bermuda, but whose mother is a descendant of the Wampanoag people and the Cherokees – was recently honoured by the Lakota community that she has been helping for the last 8 years. At a recent coming-of-age ceremony the generous teen (who has just graduated from high school and is planning to study education and history at Eastern Kentucky University in the Autumn) was given the Lakota name Ptehincala Sapa Waste Win (“Good Black Buffalo Calf Woman”). This was in recognition of her years of efforts on behalf of the disadvantaged people on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations, where the poverty rate is around 80% and children are particularly badly affected.
The charity, Rez ANGELS – founded in 2007 – provides books, clothes and school supplies, as well as toys and computer learning games. The name derives from Reservation American Native Goals for the Education of the Lakota Spirit. Over the last few years Ms Fox has collected over 4,000 books, which she plans to use to set up a library for the reservation youngsters. She has raised money for winter clothing, and has supported a weekly soup kitchen, and she even helped renovate a dilapidated golf course, by donating equipment. She has donated money won by dancing at regional powwow celebrations, and since she was 11 years old she has been giving away her Christmas and birthday presents. This all started when at the age of 10 she was shocked to see Native American children receiving only fruits as presents at a Christmas party. She felt that she had so much, while they had so little, and she decided to do what she could to help them. Amazingly, the communities she helps are more than 18 hours away from where she lives.
If you would like to donate to Rez ANGELS you can contact Ms Fox at alicia.n.fox@gmail.com.
