Ellester
DIS Veteran
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- Nov 5, 2003
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This ran in our paper today. I've been following Hope's story since The Observer first ran it. What an uplifting but sad story. What a wonderful little girl Hope was.
Community doesn't have to lose Hope
DANNYE ROMINE POWELL
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Hope.
Her selflessness raised the consciousness of a community.
Blue-eyed and red-haired, she was tall for her 12 years -- 5-foot-6 -- and wiser than many five or six times her age.
Hope was the youngest daughter of Shelby and Stuart Stout, and when she died Sunday evening at her home in Weddington, her family, including her cats, Peanut and Pudge, were there with her.
There's no cure for osteosarcoma, the rare bone disease that killed her. But Hope showed us there is a cure for the debilitating ailment of our age -- "getting and spending."
By now, we know her story by heart.
How the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina asked Hope if she had a wish. How she answered with a question: How many other children are waiting on wishes?
Another 155, they said.
My wish, Hope said, is to help raise money to grant all their wishes.
Imagine.
Seed of selflessness
Hope's story ran Dec. 19.Radio and TV picked it up, and in the busy days following, the seed of selflessness Hope planted grew like a beanstalk.
People began to think more about what others -- especially those 155 children -- needed.
To make all the wishes come true, the foundation said it needed $1 million. By Dec. 20, people had given $15,000. By Christmas Eve, $350,000.
One man gave $100,000. A family gave up Disney World and donated $5,000.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson donated four playoff tickets, which the foundation auctioned for $15,000.
Pat and Laura Swisher donated $10,000 and pledged an additional $25,000.
Children gave up their allowance. And hundreds bought the $10 sterling silver Hope charms, engraved with her name.
All because a lanky girl led the way.
Challenge remains
Hope's wish reminds me of John Kennedy's famous challenge. She asked not what others could do for her, but what she could do for others.
"Hope allowed me to witness and experience grace," foundation board member Chuck Coira said. "Although she is gone, I will always have Hope."
As of Monday, people had given $493,000.
And on Jan. 16, the foundation is hosting a black-tie "Celebration of Hope" party at the Westin hotel uptown.
It only takes one Hope Stout to inspire us to step out of our tiny universe and gaze into the miraculous galaxy around us.
Once upon a time there was a girl named Hope. We must promise to keep her selfless story alive.
Want to Help?
Details: www.ncwish.org or (877) 677-9474. Send checks to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina, 121 W. Trade St., Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202, marked "Celebration of Hope."
Community doesn't have to lose Hope
DANNYE ROMINE POWELL
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Hope.
Her selflessness raised the consciousness of a community.
Blue-eyed and red-haired, she was tall for her 12 years -- 5-foot-6 -- and wiser than many five or six times her age.
Hope was the youngest daughter of Shelby and Stuart Stout, and when she died Sunday evening at her home in Weddington, her family, including her cats, Peanut and Pudge, were there with her.
There's no cure for osteosarcoma, the rare bone disease that killed her. But Hope showed us there is a cure for the debilitating ailment of our age -- "getting and spending."
By now, we know her story by heart.
How the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina asked Hope if she had a wish. How she answered with a question: How many other children are waiting on wishes?
Another 155, they said.
My wish, Hope said, is to help raise money to grant all their wishes.
Imagine.
Seed of selflessness
Hope's story ran Dec. 19.Radio and TV picked it up, and in the busy days following, the seed of selflessness Hope planted grew like a beanstalk.
People began to think more about what others -- especially those 155 children -- needed.
To make all the wishes come true, the foundation said it needed $1 million. By Dec. 20, people had given $15,000. By Christmas Eve, $350,000.
One man gave $100,000. A family gave up Disney World and donated $5,000.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson donated four playoff tickets, which the foundation auctioned for $15,000.
Pat and Laura Swisher donated $10,000 and pledged an additional $25,000.
Children gave up their allowance. And hundreds bought the $10 sterling silver Hope charms, engraved with her name.
All because a lanky girl led the way.
Challenge remains
Hope's wish reminds me of John Kennedy's famous challenge. She asked not what others could do for her, but what she could do for others.
"Hope allowed me to witness and experience grace," foundation board member Chuck Coira said. "Although she is gone, I will always have Hope."
As of Monday, people had given $493,000.
And on Jan. 16, the foundation is hosting a black-tie "Celebration of Hope" party at the Westin hotel uptown.
It only takes one Hope Stout to inspire us to step out of our tiny universe and gaze into the miraculous galaxy around us.
Once upon a time there was a girl named Hope. We must promise to keep her selfless story alive.
Want to Help?
Details: www.ncwish.org or (877) 677-9474. Send checks to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina, 121 W. Trade St., Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202, marked "Celebration of Hope."
