2-ÇOLOR
2 The Independent
Young reader’s love lives on On book selection day, one of the most special days at Iowa Elementary in Aurora, almost 2,000 new stories crowd the school library. There’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” And “Misty of Chincoteague.” And “The Good Dog.” And so many more. But the best story isn’t in a book. It’s the one being written every time Carole and Joe Hemmelgarn walk through the doors, hauling their load of books to lovingly place into the hands of every child there. It’s the one being written every time students ask about Alyssa, their 9-year-old daughter. “Do you miss her?” “Are you sad?” It’s the one being written with every hug Carole and Joe, and the children, give to each other. “It’s a gift,” Principal LuAnn Tallman says. “It’s a relationship. Someone else cares about them.” And someone else cares about Alyssa, who died suddenly six years ago, breaking her family’s hearts. “They talk of her as a personal friend,” Tallman says of her students. “We really consider Alyssa a part of our school.” That means everything to Joe and Carole. “As the years go by, people don’t ask anymore,” Carole says. “Kids are amazing. They’re not afraid to ask ….” If you asked, you’d hear a story about loss and sorrow, but also about hope. And love. And books. It begins, of course, with Alyssa. Doctors diagnosed the leukemia on Feb. 26, 2007. She was two months shy of her 10th birthday when she died 10 days later of complications from the treatment. “The heartbreak, the heartache ….” Joe’s voice trails off. Her bedroom, still as it was when she last slept in it, reflects the boundless enthusiasm and diverse interests that
endeared her to so many. Under the bed is the board with the intricate city she spent a whole day folding out of scrap paper. In a large shadow box on the wall are the colorful googly-eyed puff ball creatures she made for each holiday, a picture of her favorite go-with-her-everywhere white teddy bear with the red heart called Valentine, clothespin dolls she created, poems she wrote for her classes at Fox Creek Elementary in Highlands Ranch. She titled one “Upside Down.” Yesterday my brain flipped upside down And my train of thought crashed And thirty of my brain cells died … So please excuse my attention span in Math. “She was a goofy kid,” Joe says. At the beginning of fourth grade, she started waking up at 4:30 every morning. “She made her breakfast, fed her lizard, played the guitar. It was almost as if she felt ‘I’m running out of time here.’ ” Her best friend was her younger brother, Griffin, now 12. Smiley and funloving, Alyssa grew her hair to cut it off for wigs for cancer patients. She loved to ski, play soccer — and read. A book she was reading when she died, “The Fairy’s Return and Other Princess Tales,” still rests on her dresser. That last Christmas, she had written her parents a note. Dear Mom and Dad, Thank you for caring for me. And loving me. Stay warm and help old and poor. Thank you. Love, Alyssa. Merry Christmas. For Carole and Joe, the words took on new meaning after her death.
“When parents lose a child,” Carole says, “there’s this need to give back or do something.” They combined Alyssa’s love for reading with her compassion for the less fortunate and, a year later, in 2008, the Alyssa Cares Foundation was born. They decided to take books to schools where most of the students qualified for free and reduced lunch, a marker of poverty, and where reading scores were low. Iowa Elementary was the first school. Today, four more elementaries participate — Harrington, Doull and Swansea in Denver, and Paris, also in Aurora. Carole and Joe, with Griffin and their volunteers, visit each school three times a year and bring enough books to give every child — from kindergarten to fifth grade — one to take home, each time. So far, they have distributed more than 30,000 books, all bought with donations from individuals and corporations. “We tell Alyssa’s story, about her love for reading,” Joe says. “The book is our way of having the introduction. We talk a lot about what it can do for you in your life. … The gateway to learning is reading, and everything becomes a little easier if you can read.” But something else, a little bit magical, blossomed along the way. “We did not see how they would connect with Alyssa,” Carole says. “She’s like this mentor. They want to read for her. They say, ‘We want to be like you, Alyssa.’” And they want to share their stories, many of which, like Carole’s and Joe’s, are of struggles and loss. “Storytelling,” Carole says, “is so powerful.” LuAnn Tallman, the principal: “The books are important, but it’s Carole’s and Joe’s relationship with the children that has made the biggest difference in their reading.” Carole and Joe don’t forget. “They will recognize the kids and say, ‘We remembered this book for you,’” Tallman says.
LITTLETON NEWS IN A HURRY Bennet seeking interns
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is accepting internship applications from undergraduate students, recent graduates and graduate students for his Washington and Colorado offices. Interested students and recent graduates can apply online at www.bennet. senate.gov/services/internships/. The deadline to apply for a Washington internship is March 15. The first summer session begins on May 20, and the second begins July 8. This is an unpaid position. Those interested in an in-state position can apply any time. For more information, contact Haley Martin at Haley_Martin@bennet.senate.gov for the Washington program or Alexis Harrigan at Denver_Intern_Coordinator@bennet.senate.gov for the Colorado position.
LWV to discuss immigration
The March meetings for the League of Women Voters of Arapahoe County will focus on immigration reform. League presenters will explain the proposals submitted by President Obama, Congress and Colorado legislators, examine the pros and cons,
answer questions about current immigration policies and programs, and review select periods of immigration history and a glossary of immigration terms. The public is invited to attend. Meetings are March 11, 5:30 p.m., at Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant, 5050 S. Sycrause St.; and March 14, 9:30 a.m., at Castlewood Library, 6739 S. Uinta St. For directions and more information, call Marlu Burkamp 303-798-3939, marluburkamp@gmail. com.
Learn to fake fight
Learn how to fight on stage and use physical comedy techniques to create an exciting scene. Town Hall Arts Center and South Suburban Parks and Recreation have partnered for an opportunity to learn stage skills while using the language of Shakespeare. The workshop will be held March 9 at the Buck Recreation Center, 2004 W. Powers Ave. in Littleton, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The program is open to both boys and girls ages 7 to 15. Wear loose jeans or sweats, tie shoes and white or black T-shirt. Bring a snack and water bottle. Workshop fees for in-district residents is $20; $25 for
non-district.
“They’re willing to give freely of themselves to make these kids feel good about reading and feel good about life.” The connection is evident in the plastic bin under Alyssa’s bed, packed tightly with more than 2,000 letters from children at the schools. A colorful wire sculpture that depicts Alyssa reading, from Harrington Elementary, sits on her dresser. Iowa Elementary’s library is now named after her. The foundation, Joe says simply, “keeps her memory alive. It’s creating some type of legacy, and I guess we just didn’t want her story to end.” Every Christmas, Carole places under the tree a stack of gift-wrapped books for Alyssa. One by one, she’ll read them throughout the year, in the quiet of Alyssa’s bedroom or the loft at the cabin or her gravesite. “I do read out loud and I talk to her,” Carole says. “I ask her what she thinks about the book. … It’s a connection — the book — and I don’t know why.” Perhaps it just keeps the door open. Joe likes to tell the kids at the schools “every book you open, the more doors you open, and the more doors open for you.” One day, a young boy came up to him, book in hand. He turned a page. “Mr. Joe,” he said, “I’m opening a door here.” The boy smiled. Joe smiled at the memory. A connection made. One more line in a story being written one book at a time, one child at a time, by a little girl and the family who misses her. That’s a story of hope. And of love. And that’s the best story of all. To learn more about the Alyssa Cares Foundation, go to www.AlyssaCares.org. Ann Macari Healey’s column about people, places and issues of everyday life appears every other week. She can be reached at ahealey@ourcoloradonews.com or 303566-4110.
SO MUCH INSIDE THE INDEPENDENT THIS WEEK
Meet journalist Greg Dobbs
Veteran television journalist Greg Dobbs will share stories of his exciting career in a free presentation at 7 p.m. March 12 in the Bemis Library public meeting room, 6014 S. Datura St. Dobbs worked as an international correspondent for ABC News and covered many major stories, including the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the civil wars in Lebanon and Zimbabwe, the assassination of Anwar Sadat in Egypt and the Watergate scandal. He is the winner of two Emmy Awards for news coverage. In recent years Dobbs has worked for the television network HDNet as a world correspondent and producer of documentaries on such topics as politics in Russia, wealth in Dubai and assisted suicide in Switzerland. Dobbs will talk about all the funny, dangerous and unbelievable things that journalists experience in reporting a story. He is the author of the book, “Life in the Wrong Lane,” which will be available for purchase and signing at the program.
Party politics. Ryan Call was re-elected as chairman of the Colorado Republicans, chosen by a wide margin over former Douglas County GOP Chair Mark Baisley. Page 4
Photography show. The Byers-Evans House Gallery’s new photo exhibit is “The Denver Salon: Then and Now.” Page 12
Learning experience. Ambleside School of Colorado is a tuition-based Christian school offering education based on the teachings of a 19th-century British schoolmarm. Page 11
Punch stigma in the nose.
Whole lotta shavin’ goin’ on. Ned Kelly’s Irish Pub hosted a St. Baldrick’s Day event, where attendees gave up their hair to benefit childhood-cancer research. Page 6
Mental health is not just about illness. It’s also about being well and well-informed. Sign up for a class today. • • • •
Mental Health First Aid Parenting the Strong-Willed Child Parenting Foster & Adopted Children Becoming a Love & Logic Parent
Call for class dates and locations or visit admhn.org, click on Education
303 779 9676 admhn.org
March 7, 2013
Bruins beat Lions. Littleton lost to Cherry Creek 61-38 in the 5A boys basketball playoffs on Feb. 27. Page 22