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(Omaha World Herald photo) |
"Hang
On to the Dream Foundation" Helps
Young Lifeguard With No Arms
Reach
For Her Dream
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(Associated Press photo)
Troy, MI - - The Hang On to the Dream Foundation, currently on a 15-city tour around the United States recognizing young people for their outstanding achievements, recently made a young Omaha girl's dream come true when the organization's founder gave Sable Carfield of McCook, NE a voice compatible laptop computer. Emmy Award winning TV Host, and Michigan native, Christopher Ewing, who founded the organization, was in Omaha over the weekend hosting the "Hang On to the Dream Music Competition" which was held at Westroads Mall, and read in a local newspaper about the teen recently becoming certified as a lifeguard, despite having no right arm and only a partial left arm. "I was so touched by Sable's determination," Ewing says, "that I wanted to invite her and her family to be my guests during the competition where we would present Sable with a special award. However, after speaking with her mother, I found out that Sable was in desperate need of a laptop computer that works by voice recognition and I knew right away that the organization had to do something to make that happen." So with the help of one of the managers from a Best Buy store in Omaha, Christopher and the Hang On to the Dream Foundation made the surprise presentation. "This is so wonderful," Sable said, as tears ran down her cheeks. "It is so nice to know that there are people out there who really care. This is really going to help me do my school work a lot faster. It's been tough sometimes trying to keep up, but this is really going to make it a whole lot easier." "Sable is an example to all of us," Ewing says. "She is a young person who has reached her goal of becoming a certified lifeguard because of her sheer will to succeed, against all odds, despite what others may say is impossible, no matter what. I applaud her for her hard work and I am very proud to have met her. Because of her determination, not only will she save lives, she will change lives. She already has." The young lifeguard, who recently turned 16 and just got her drivers license, says that she plans on continuing to swim and hopes to become a Spanish teacher when she grows up.
The Hang On to the Dream Foundation is a national 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that helps kids reach their goals in life. Those who would like to make a tax deductible donation, or to nominate a young person who needs help with their dream, can go to www.hangontothedream.com.
To view news footage of the
surprise,
click on:
Sable (center) with Hang On to the Dream
Foundation founder Christopher Ewing (right) and Best Buy of Omaha store manager
Cindi Horning (left) who helped make the presentation of a
backpack with a voice-compatible laptop computer inside.
(Photo credits: Jim Ferguson, Hang On to the Dream Foundation staff photographer,
unless otherwise noted)