The students have won awards in national choral competitions, traveled the country to perform in prestigious music festivals and gained international recognition thanks to their partnership with a sister school in China, all in the last four years.

Getting to share their gift and love for music with the world is something the young performers said has become one of the most important aspects of their high school career.

The Marvin Ridge High School Women’s Ensemble is a group of about 20 to 25 female students who audition and perform together throughout the year at schools, country clubs, malls and other venues. Under the direction of choral teacher Deborah Lutz, the ensemble also has set its own high bar through venturing beyond the community and making a mark both nationally and internationally.

Seniors Madeleine Cutrone, Jordan Hodges, Meghan Rutowski, Katherine Judge and Maddy Hardy have been a part of the ensemble since their freshman year and have seen what difference being able to express themselves through music has made in their own lives.

“To find yourself and be able to express yourself and not worry about being shy is the big thing we’ve gotten out of it,” Meghan said.

While exercising their musical talent and creativity, the group also has received accolades from national music critics. The ensemble placed first in the 2010 Heritage Music Festival, an annual national competition. The girls took a trip to Williamsburg, Va., where they sang three classical pieces for judges and were chosen among a pool of other women’s ensembles from across the United States.

After that victory, the group was invited to sing at Carnegie Hall as part of a larger ensemble of nationally recognized student performers. Ten students from the women’s ensemble traveled to New York City in April 2010 to perform at the prestigious music hall where the experience, the girls said, was like no other.

“It’s just something that you can’t put into words, an experience like that,” Jordan Hodges said. “So many world-renowned people have (performed) there … it’s something so incredible.”

The 2011-12 school year was a year of growth for the ensemble, as there were a handful of veteran members who left and new members who joined. So Lutz, the choral director, spent time working with the students, training them to gel as an ensemble.

“She’s so committed … it’s almost contagious,” Madeleine Cutrone said of Lutz. “It just makes you want to work even harder.”

The year of hard work paid off, the girls said, as this school year has seen the ensemble once again place first in a national competition, receive another invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall and perform for millions of viewers via a Chinese television network.

Marvin Ridge has a sister school in China and delegates from the school who visited the U.S. saw the women’s ensemble perform a song in Chinese during a Confucius Institute event in uptown Charlotte last fall. Impressed with the girls’ performance, the delegates invited them to perform again in a pre-recording aired on a national Chinese network. An estimated 400 million Chinese viewers watched the performance, the girls
said.

“Opportunities to sing in places that aren’t our school are hard to come by,” Maddy Hardy said. “So this opportunity to sing for millions of people in a country that we’ve never been to, halfway across the world … the idea was a little hard to fathom that something so big could happen to us.”

The ensemble also traveled to New Orleans in April, where they competed again in the Heritage Music Festival. After a first-place win, the girls received another invitation to perform in Carnegie Hall, which the ensemble will do next year.

Although the girls are proud of all their accomplishments, the most important thing about being a part of the women’s ensemble is the bond they’ve developed with each other and with Lutz.

“We really can’t say enough about her,” Katherine Judge said. “She’s so easy to talk to, she’s always helping you … her room has become our second home.”

Seven-year-old Jane Richard (Above) lost her left leg and her 8-year-old brother, Martin, in the Boston Marathon bombing. Weddington High School will host a special dance event Monday, May 13, to benefit the family.

Seven-year-old Jane Richard was an avid Irish step dancer until the April 15 bombing took her left leg and left her in critical condition in a Massachusetts hospital. Jane’s 8-year-old brother, Martin, was killed in the bombing and her mom, Denise, also injured, remains in critical condition. Her father, Bill, was running in the marathon and was not injured.

The family’s story hit home for Weddington teacher Kevin McGee, whose daughter is an Irish step dancer and is about the same age as Jane. McGee talked to students in his global awareness class about doing something to help, and students stepped up to the plate to put a dent in the Richard family’s mounting medical bills of more than $1 million.

On Monday, May 13, the school will host Dance Out for Jane from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the school auditorium, 4901 Monroe Weddington Road. The event will feature dancers from Rince na h’Eirann School of Irish Dance, The Walsh Kelley School of Traditional Irish Dancing and several other dance schools throughout Union County and the Charlotte region. Tickets cost $5 and will be available at the door.

“We didn’t have to do this as a project. We’re doing it just because our class wanted to,” said Maddy Muhlsteff, the 16-year-old Weddington High School junior who’s helping organize the event. “All of us are pretty horrified that something that horrible will happen to a small child (and) all of us have been talking about wanting to help people in the accident.”

The class began organizing the event last Monday and, so far, things have fallen into place, Maddy said. The two Irish dance schools immediately agreed to help and the school is securing sponsorships from local businesses, she said.

Because the class feels this event is extremely important, the students have put  their global awareness studies on hold temporarily to focus on organizing and promoting the project. They’ve been making flyers, hanging posters, calling businesses to recruit sponsorships and making sure all aspects of the event fall into place.

Maddy said they’re learning just as much about being global citizens through reaching out to others in need even though they’ve set their textbooks aside.

“That’s probably the reason we’re getting it done faster and done so well; if we were doing a lot of schoolwork, we probably wouldn’t have as much motivation,” she said. “But we’re learning about (global awareness) in class” through organizing Dance Out for Jane, she added.

Planning the event goes beyond the classroom, Maddy said – it’s changing the students’ lives, as well.

“It’s putting all of us more in a good mood,” she said. “We’re so much happier now that we can help some way … we’re amazed that we can make a difference in someone’s life.”

Maddy said the school hopes to raise at least $30,000 through the event. Tickets cost $5 and the students will welcome any donations from event goers and area businesses who want to help. All proceeds go directly to the Richard Family Fund.

The school also is looking for sponsors to donate water and snacks for the dancers. For more information on the event or how to become a sponsor, call the school at 704-708-5530. Find more about the Richard Family Fund on the nonprofit’s website, www.RichardFamilyFund.org.

There’s lots to do at the Spring Fling Thing at Wesley Chapel Elementary School.

The fourth annual Wesley Chapel Elementary School Spring Fling Thing and Bid$ for Our Kids Silent Auction will take place Friday, May 3, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the school, 110 S. Potter Road in Wesley Chapel. Proceeds from food sales, the silent auction and wristbands – which are required for rides and bounce houses – will benefit Wesley Chapel Elementary.

The event began in 2010 as a means of raising funds through a carnival-type atmosphere. It has since grown into a large annual event, offering something new every year.

“It became very popular to use this as a fundraiser to gain funds for our operating budget,” said Christie McHaney, chairperson of the spring fling and a member of the school’s parent-teacher group.

The event will feature carnival rides, a foam pit, nine inflatable bounce houses, a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, hair painting, fire trucks, the Chick-fil-A cow, a dunking booth, prizes and a live DJ. Pyro Pigs BBQ, Brooklyn Pizza, Goldfinger’s NY Style Hot Dogs and other vendors will provide fresh food. This year’s first-time attractions will include a rock climbing wall, a handful of new games and a photo booth.

McHaney said the carnival rides are a huge attraction for older children and the hair painting station is something that’s practically universally appealing.

“Every single child that comes to the spring fling gets their hair painted,” she said. “It’s kind of a Wesley Chapel staple that every child leaves here with crazy hair.”

While the food sales and carnival rides and games are successful, the real fundraising comes from the Bid$ for Kids Silent Auction. McHaney said the silent auction features dozens of items businesses, groups and individuals have donated to help the school raise money. Featured prizes in the past have included tickets to Disney World, vacation packages, admission to sight-seeing attractions, wine tasting events, tickets for dry cleaning and car wash services and more.

“There are things for adults and kids,” McHaney said. “All items are donated by local and national businesses and families, and all the money goes back to the school.” She added the school plans to use the funds raised to foster enrichment programs (such as music and the computer lab), cover tutoring programs, replace outdated technology and make significant improvements to the playground.

McHaney’s two children attend Wesley Chapel Elementary and have served as the spring fling’s advocates since McHaney accepted the role of festival chairperson earlier this school year, she said.

“They haven’t stopped talking about it since last year,” McHaney said. “They’ve gotten to watch it unfold in our living room for the past eight months or so. The
kids, that’s all they talk about right now.”

McHaney believes her own children’s enthusiasm is a testament to the excitement other families feel when they visit the spring fling, and she hopes even more families throughout the area will join in on the fun this year.

“You don’t need to go to a huge amusement park where you have to worry about your child,” she said. “You can have fun right here.”

For more information about the event or the silent auction, go to www.wesley chapelpto.com. Wristbands are required for rides and bounce houses and can be purchased online for $12 through Monday, April 29, or at the gate on the day of the event for $15.

But after a few months of preparation and work, Vickie not only has her own specially designed garden to showcase – she’s helped other students learn the ins and outs of gardening, as well.

A Girl Scout from the time she was very young, Vickie has always loved the program’s special trips, camping outings and opportunity to help younger Scouts. So sticking with it until the end – and, especially, earning her Gold Award – was a no-brainer for Vickie.

When the time came to start working on her project, Vickie juggled a few ideas around. She spoke with her DECA advisor at Weddington, who suggested she contact Rock Rest Elementary School in Monroe and see if she could help them out in any way.

After meeting with school administrators, Vickie came up with a rough idea for a project – revamping the school’s courtyard to feature a garden area. In addition, Vickie also agreed to work with the school to start a gardening club for fourth- and fifth-grade students.

Vickie began working on the courtyard last November. Her improvements included adding dirt and creating two new flowerbeds along the garden, planting bulbs and laying decorative gravel along the area.

“We planted all the flowers – mainly bulbs – so (the school) wouldn’t have to worry about planting them again in the next years,” Vickie said. “We’ve got a yellow-and-purple theme going on; I thought it would look nice in the garden.”

Over the course of several months and seven different workdays, Vickie and a handful of friends and fellow members of Weddington’s National Honors Society showed up to help with her project. The Monroe Garden Club also pitched in with free seed donations.

One of the challenging things about the project, Vickie said, was the weather. It rained on several of the scheduled workdays and the unseasonably cold weather over the past couple of months also threw some kinks into her plans.

“The weather was difficult,” Vickie said. “I think it was the day after the big snow storm when we went out and laid down some rocks.”

But despite Mother Nature’s setbacks, Vickie and her fellow workers continued to put forth their best effort and the project was complete earlier this month.

To ensure her masterpiece is maintained in the years to come, Vickie also started a gardening club, which began meeting earlier this year on Mondays after school. Open to fourth- and fifth-graders, the club teaches kids the basics of planting and maintaining a garden.

“With the garden club, we really take it to the next level. People are really learning about gardening and getting interested,” Vickie said.

She added, “I loved all the time I’ve spent helping with the club. Kids are starting (to plant) seeds at home, some of the art classes made sculptures – really cute water sculptures – for (the garden). Kids are getting out in the garden and people are appreciating it. That’s one of the more touching moments for me.”

In addition to her garden-related efforts, Vickie also organized a book and supply drive that collected about 3,000 books and supply items for Rock Rest. Weddington High School held a competition to see which class could collect the most supplies and the items were donated to Rock Rest to be distributed among the different classrooms as needed.

Vickie will be officially honored for her achievements in a Girl Scouts Gold Award ceremony on May 5. Rock Rest also is celebrating Vickie’s efforts in a special dedication ceremony Thursday, April 18.

Now that she’s earned the highest merit any Girl Scout can achieve and is planning to head off to college in the fall – she recently received a full-ride scholarship to attend the University of South Carolina – Vickie said she’d love to stay involved with Girl Scouts.

“Definitely when I get to college, I would love to work with younger Girl Scout troops,” she said. “That’s something I’m really interested in doing.”

Friends and neighbors, community members and businesses are coming together to raise money for 4-year-old Anthony LaPenna, who needs a lifesaving liver and small intestine transplant.

When he was just three weeks old, Anthony LaPenna of Waxhaw was diagnosed with chronic intestinal pseudo obstruction (CIPO), a medical condition in which the intestines function as if there is a blockage although no obstruction is present.

Because the muscles in the gastrointestinal tract can’t move food through efficiently, it’s often difficult – if not impossible – for a person with CIPO to receive nutrition orally.

After a handful of tests, surgeries and procedures, Anthony’s family received word from Duke University that Anthony needed a lifesaving liver and small intestine transplant, and in February he was officially placed on a transplant list.

Because transplant costs often exceed $500,000, the family turned to the nonprofit Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) for help. COTA assists families of children needing a transplant through helping with fundraising. The nonprofit also keeps the money safe in an account under the patient’s name.

After the LaPennas connected with COTA, their neighbor, Joe Sancinella, agreed to be Anthony’s community coordinator, assuming the responsibility of organizing fundraisers.

“We have about seven people on a committee,” Sancinella said. “We started a website right at the very beginning in February and emailed the site to people. That’s how we (started) getting money.”

It started out with friends and family donating money here and there. But pretty soon Anthony’s story spread like wildfire throughout the community, with individuals, businesses, schools and the Town of Waxhaw wanting to help.

“It’s been a combination of everybody – neighborhoods, friends, (business) owners,” Sancinella said.

The biggest fundraiser planned is a 50/50 raffle, where people can purchase a ticket for $10. Sancinella said the goal is to draw in $20,000 through ticket sales, with the winner and Anthony each getting $10,000. The drawing will be held on Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. at Stadium Sports Tavern in Charlotte.

The committee doesn’t have any additional fundraisers scheduled yet, but Sancinella said there’s a strong possibility there may be more to come.

“It’s a lot to take in because everybody (on the committee) is working. We’re trying to do this in our spare time,” he said. “We’re trying to get through this right now and decide where to go from there. With the summer coming up, we’ll probably plan more.”

The goal is to raise at least $60,000 and, so far, the donations and fundraising efforts have brought in more than $13,000. All the money raised goes directly to COTA and is deposited in Anthony’s account. Anthony will have access to his account for his entire life and the money can be used for transplant-related expenses, such as costs insurance won’t cover, travel and lodging expenses, follow-up appointments and procedures and more.

Sancinella said he’s encouraged to see so many people rally together in Anthony’s name and hopes more people jump on board to help the boy he considers family.

“He’s like my grandson, this child,” Sancinella said. “He’s just a sweetheart.”

For details on fundraisers go to www.CotaForAnthonyL.com.

Students and staff at Cuthbertson Middle School have shaved their heads and raised funds for seventh-grader Dylan Jacob, who’s fighting Stage 4 Ewing’s sarcoma.

Students and faculty at Cuthbertson recently united in an effort to raise money for Dylan through the simple act of sending Dylan well wishes, bringing in $5,000 in just two weeks.

Dylan was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer found in the bone or soft tissue. Physical education teacher Tess Palmer taught Dylan last year and wanted to do something for him when she found out about his illness.

When Palmer began thinking about ways to raise money to help Dylan’s family pay for medical expenses – including the chemotherapy and radiation treatments he’ll have to undergo – she remembered a fundraiser she’d been involved with where chain links were cut out of construction paper and sold to help support a cause. For two weeks, the school sold blue links students could purchase for $1 to write a “get well” message for Dylan.

“Construction paper is relatively cheap,” Palmer said. “It was just an easy way, and kids love to write messages and feel like they have some kind of connection to it, and it was visual so they could see (the fundraiser) growing. The kids loved seeing it.”

Principal Scott Sofsian said the original goal was to raise $3,000 through the fundraiser. Thanks to popular demand and support from students, faculty and the community, the links brought in more than $4,300, he said. The school sent two large bags full of links from seventh-graders to Dylan and the rest of the links were connected to form large chains – one spelling out Dylan’s name – and hung in the school’s main hallway.

Cuthbertson also collected money through a candy sale the school band organized, proceeds from the school’s Friendship Dance on Valentine’s Day, contributions from a Marvin Ridge High School varsity baseball game and donations from community members. The total raised, when added to the link fundraiser, tallies up to about $5,000, Sofsian said.

When eighth-grader Patrick McHenry found out about Dylan’s condition, he was inspired to go above and beyond purchasing links.

“I thought it was sad because cancer is a bad thing, but it’s a lot worse when it’s affecting children,” said Patrick, who didn’t know Dylan before he was diagnosed.

Patrick started going door-to-door in his own neighborhood asking for donations and ended up collecting more than $250. Some families
gave as much as $10 to $20, he said.

“I think it’s amazing how the teachers and the whole student body are behind a kid who has cancer and how we were able to raise (that much money) for him and his family,” he said.

In addition to the fundraisers and collecting money, a handful of students and faculty stepped out of their comfort zone to show their support for Dylan in a different way – shaving their heads. On March 8, 16 faculty members and more than 40 students shaved their heads in front of the school to honor Dylan, who’ll likely lose his hair during his treatments. Several teachers pitched in to help shave heads, while others filmed the event and made a special video that was posted to the school’s website for Dylan and his family to see, since they couldn’t attend the ceremony.

The school’s Cavalier Connection group also put together “baskets of sunshine” for Dylan, full of yellow- and bright-colored candy, notepads and other goodies, and parents and staff have signed up to provide meals for Dylan and his family through May.

“It just really warms your heart,” Sofsian said. “It really makes you feel like this is a community that you want to be in and that you want to live in and want to teach in or work in because it’s a really caring group, not just students and teachers, but parents as well.”

Sofsian said he’s hoping to get a link set up on the school’s website where community members can donate to Dylan’s family via their PayPal account. Check the school’s homepage, www.cms.ucps.k12.nc.us, for updates and details.

The Chick-fil-A cow was one of the guests at the 4-H Club’s party for exceptional children.

On the morning of Dec. 4, games, popcorn, a snow cone machine and more than 70 students from five different schools all filled a Weddington Elementary classroom for the festivities. Volunteers of all ages – members of the 4-H club, their children and families, high school peers and school faculty – donated their time to help run the event.

“There was enough provision to go around, and everyone just enjoyed themselves,” Weddington Elementary Assistant Principal Sheila Levesque said. “We had some students, some adults and some adults (who) brought their kids to come out and help.”

Exceptional children programs from Weddington elementary, middle and high schools and Antioch and Wesley Chapel elementary schools attended the event. They participated in a wide range of activities, including a Twister-like game, cookie-making station, ring toss game and dance area featuring a D.J. They also enjoyed a visit from the Chick-fil-A cow.

Although a wide range of ages showed up at the party, everything went very smoothly, Levesque said.

“They had a lot of fun. A lot of popcorn was eaten. There was a lot of icing on people’s faces,” she said. “They went home and raved about it.”

Levesque said following the party, she received several phone calls from parents thanking the school for hosting the party and saying their child came home talked nonstop about the fun they had.

“I had parents who called and said their child was still talking about party, or the cow, or the dancing,” she said. “They had a wonderful time.”

Levesque said hosting events like these is important for a school like Weddington Elementary and an organization like the Union County 4-H Club because it encourages partnerships within the community.

“It’s all about building partnerships and building a sense of community and a sense of relationship,” she said. “To see the smiles and interaction
between the children makes it all worthwhile.”

The school is gearing up for another outreach endeavor – the “Pajama Project.” For the first time ever, Weddington Elementary is partnering with the Pajama Program, a nonprofit that brings “warm sleepwear and nurturing books to children in need,” as its mission statement reads.

On Dec. 19, Weddington Elementary students can wear their pajamas to school if they bring another pair of sleepwear to be donated to the Pajama Program.

“We try to impress community projects and service projects like these on the kids,” Levesque said of the Pajama Project.

As far as next year goes, Levesque is already gearing up for the 2013 4-H Club-sponsored holiday party.

“I definitely want to (host the party) again next year,” she said. “I’ve already told them, ‘Let me know when the date is and we’ll have it here.’”

The sweet treat creations were part of the school’s first-ever gingerbread house competition, headed up by art teacher Tiffany Medford. During her time at Sun Valley Middle, Medford organized the contest for eight consecutive years. Now in her first year at the high school, she brought the competition with her.

“A lot of the kids have already participated in it and were familiar with the contest, and I was excited to see a greater level of creativity and ability,” she said. “This has been a tradition for them through the years, so we’re just continuing that throughout the high school.”

The contest uses the same guidelines as the Grove Park Inn’s National Gingerbread Contest. At least 75 percent of the house had to be constructed using gingerbread or graham crackers. The gingerbread houses had to have some type of Christmas theme and, with the exception of the base, every part of the house had to be edible.

“Everything, you have to be able to pick up and put in mouth,” Medford said. “It has to be edible.”

Students could purchase a gingerbread kit for $15, or they could build their own house from scratch. They also were allowed to work in teams of two.

Medford received 21 entries – all teams of two – for the contest. Students used everything from fondant and jellybeans to almonds and pretzel sticks to decorate their houses.

The gingerbread houses were delivered to the media center by 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 10. Later that day, two outside judges visited the media center to examine the houses and pick their favorites.

Cash prizes were given to three contest winners: $70 for first place, $35 for second place and $17.50 for third place. The school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Organization provided the prize money.

The school announced the contest winners on Tuesday, Dec. 11. In the student category, Kayla Iannetto and Cheyanne Helms won first place, Nadya Murdasova and Anna Clark nabbed second place and Samantha Gulickson and Isabella Garcia came in third.

Second-place winner Nadya Murdasova, a 16-year-old junior, purchased a gingerbread house kit and used candy and her own glaze to create a house with a pink castle theme. As an art student, she enjoys doing projects like these.

“It was really fun to do this,” Nadya said. “I like doing artistic projects and the design of it.”

For first-place winner Kayla Iannetto, a 15-year-old sophomore, the project was a chance to work with her best friend. They opted to do a homemade gingerbread house with a “Grinch” theme, using Rice Krispies and fondant.

“I had a lot of fun making it, because me and my best friend got to spend a lot of time together doing it,” said Kayla, who also won the contest in eighth grade. “We spent like eight hours making it.”

Kayla said she plans to use the prize money to buy Christmas presents.

Only one house was submitted in the teacher category – a model of Sun Valley High School using graham crackers, created by teachers Michelle VanGaasbeck and Angie Weed. All contest entries remained on display through Thursday, Dec. 13.
Medford, who plans to host the competition annually at the high school, said she enjoys the contest not just because it’s an art-related project, but also because it’s extended to the entire school and gives many students a chance to shine.

“I think it’s so important for them to have other avenues to express their creativity,” she said. “It also brings Christmas cheer to the media center. People love the smells whenever they walk into the media center.”

She added, “Some of the students who participate are not art students, so it’s opened up school-wide; it’s not exclusive. There are a lot of kids that are artistic, but their schedule doesn’t always allow for them to take art classes, so this gives them other opportunities as well.”

Since then, the Weddington 11 year old has worked to do just that through her organization, Katie’s Kidz. Now in its sixth year, Katie’s Kidz has raised tens of thousands of dollars for 11 different children’s hospitals in North and South Carolina, and Katie hopes to reach out to an additional two hospitals this year.

Throughout the year, Katie travels to schools, churches, rotary clubs and other organizations, speaking about Katie’s Kidz and how it’s helped put a smile on the faces of hundreds of children during a very difficult time.

In the months leading up to the holidays, Katie adds more speaking engagements to her calendar and works with various organizations to host toy drives where people can donate new toys for hospitalized kids.

But Katie’s efforts came to a sudden halt about two months ago when her grandfather had a massive heart attack. Her “PawPaw” spent almost a month in the hospital and under went several procedures, but his heart was too weak and damaged from the coronary, and he died in late October.

While caring for PawPaw, Katie and her family had to cancel several speaking engagements and weren’t able to set up any additional events. In addition, their mailing campaign – letters that are sent out to about 600 recipients asking for donations – got off to a late start.

But in spite of her loss, Katie chose to make a difficult year special by dedicating 2012’s fundraising efforts to her grandfather and honoring his memory and legacy.

“I’m not using PawPaw as a fundraiser,” Katie said. “I’m doing it to honor him and his memory. I’m dedicating this year to his memory.”

Thankfully, Katie and her family have been able to get the ball rolling once again and are striving to reach this year’s goal of $25,000. That’s almost $3,000 more than they raised last year.

They’re reaching out to the 11 hospitals they’ve worked with before: Levine Children’s Hospital and Hemby Children’s Hospital, both in Charlotte; CMC-Union in Monroe; Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord; Mission Children’s Hospital in Asheville; Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem; Cleveland Regional Medical Center in Shelby; the children’s hospitals at Duke and Chapel Hill; the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and Greenville Children’s Hospital in Greenville, S.C.

If she hits the $25,000 mark, Katie plans to add Greenville Children’s Hospital in Greenville, N.C., and Palmetto Children’s Hospital in Columbia, S.C., to the list. Her deadline for meeting the goal is Dec. 18.

Every year, Katie takes 100 percent of the funds raised through the mailing campaign, speaking engagements, online donations via PayPal and other private contributions and uses them to purchase toys of all kinds for all ages.

Katie and her family hit the stores Thanksgiving night and Black Friday to get the best deals on goodies. This year, they visited a number of Walgreens locations, where they purchased a handful of iTunes gift cards. For every $30 iTunes gift card purchased during the special sale, Walgreens provided a complimentary $10 Walgreens gift card, which the family used to buy disposable cameras, nail polish, makeup kits, batteries and other items for Katie’s Kidz.

The family then split up to cover more territory. Katie’s dad, Dean, went to Michael’s to get craft sets and journals while Katie and her mom, Liz, braved the Walmart crowd to get games, DVDs, shake-and-go cars and other toys.

“Divide and conquer – that’s our strategy,” Liz Greene said.

Every year, the toys are transported to a mini-warehouse where they’re stored until “packing day.” On packing day – Dec. 15, this year – the toys are taken to the Weddington United Methodist Church fellowship hall where dozens of volunteers sort and pack the toys into boxes to be delivered to specific hospitals. Sorting helps ensure each hospital gets the right number of presents as well as a variety of items.

The boxes are taken back to the mini-warehouse and stored until the following week, when they’re transported to their destinations. Hospital staff distribute the gifts appropriately to the children on Christmas Day.

In addition to money and toys, Katie’s Kidz also collects character Band-Aids for hospitalized children and toiletry items for their parents and caretakers. Katie recently collected more than 1,300 character Band-Aids through two Band-Aid drives, one of which was held at Antioch Elementary in Weddington.

Liz Greene said if Katie’s PawPaw was still alive, he’d be bursting with pride for all Katie is accomplishing through her organization.

“(Katie’s Kidz) meant so much to him,” she said. “Daddy loved helping Katie because he loved helping people.”

Want to help?

For more information on Katie’s Kidz, or to make a donation via PayPal, go to www.katieskidz.org.

With the number of local Girl Scouts growing, volunteers are badly needed.

But an ever-growing population of active Union County Girl Scouts is proving they’re so much more than kids who dress in cute uniforms and travel door to door selling cookies.

Take 18-year-old Angie Holland, for example. Angie, who’ll graduate from the Union County Early College in the spring, has been involved in Girl Scouts since kindergarten. Throughout the years, she’s attended day camp, kayaked and gone camping. Most recently, she’s served as a mentor to younger Scouts and traveled abroad to experience foreign cultures.

Angie’s mom, Kathleen, helped lead Angie’s Girl Scout troop, Troop 1278, in a trip to Costa Rica this past summer. The girls participated in a handful of different adventures, like ziplining, kayaking and mountain climbing.

They also visited a school where they distributed soccer balls and school supplies, and spent time with the students.

“My favorite part of traveling is really being able to see culture, to see how they do stuff differently than we do,” Angie said.

Her mom added having trips like these give older Girl Scouts an opportunity to stay engaged with the program.

“One of the big things I’ve seen, even with my own girls, is when they get to middle school they start to lose interest and start dropping out,” Kathleen Holland said. “We’ve lost some (members) because they’re doing sports and other activities, but we’ve had several girls in our troop that wanted to stay. (These trips) help them stay interested in staying in Scouting and encourage them to (work toward) getting their Gold Award.”

Community service and leadership are both important aspects of being a Girl Scout, according to Katherine Lambert, executive vice president of the Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council. Scouts often do a handful of service projects, like food collection drives and environmental endeavors.

Recently, a handful of Union County Scouts also pitched in to help develop a large Girl Scouts environmental campus. Several years ago, the Girl Scouts Hornets Nest Council acquired a 700-acre piece of property in Iredell County, near Statesville. The council plans to turn the area into a state-of-the-art campus, with housing, camping areas, an environmental center and a 25-acre lake, Lambert said.

She explained the campus will have both screened housing with bunk beds and air conditioned/heated housing with bathrooms and a kitchen, as well as a separate dining hall built for 500. Girl Scouts will be able to participate in archery activities, walk trails and brave challenge courses.

“When (Girl Scouts) do activities together, they realize they’re part of something bigger than just their troop,” Lambert said. “They’re part of not only a local sisterhood, but a national one, as well.”

Lambert said the Girl Scouts Hornets Council currently serves about 2,600 Girl Scouts in volunteer-led troops in Union County each year, and sees an additional 600 Union County members annually in the organization’s outreach program.

The outreach program serves families in need through financial assistance, staff support and allowing children to become involved in Girl Scouts when they otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity.

One of the biggest needs for Girl Scouts, Lambert said, is more volunteers.

“One of the most exciting things with (a growing population) in Union County is that our membership is trending in the same direction. But we’re experiencing the positives and negatives of growing pains,” she said. “Many families have expressed interest (in membership). Unfortunately, we do not have the equivalent number of volunteers to serve those girls. That is one huge need we have … for adults to raise their hand and say, ‘Yes, I’ll jump in and help in serving these girls.’”

Sherry Frerich, senior pastor of Hebron United Methodist Church in Monroe, recently started a troop for Girl Scouts in kindergarten and first grade and believes parental support and involvement is essential for Girl Scout troops, especially those who serve a younger age group.

“I really encourage parents to get involved,” Frerich said. “So many young people are disconnected with their families. This connects families.”

Although volunteers are typically women, Kathleen Holland said dads are welcome to step up and get involved.

“Ideally, it’s great to have other women involved,” she said, “but dads also can help be great leaders. Men aren’t discouraged.”

Want to help?

The Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest is looking for troop leaders and short-term volunteers, as well as occasional episodic volunteers. For more information on how to get involved, email Eren Tataragasi at etataragasi@hngirlscouts.org.