AUTUMN ANGELS

Five years ago, a group of teens decided they wanted to make a difference in their community. They felt that teens could contribute greatly to society. The three girls have continued to work together for the past five years as the Autumn Angels. From collecting items for the women’s shelter, coats for the homeless, being counselors for handicapped children, to raising a $25,000 profit for the American Red Cross victims of 9-11, these girls have worked continually.

This past summer, while Megan Galvin was at a friend’s house boating and tubing on the river, a young girl who had just been diagnosed with leukemia came to visit. The young teen was unable to play in the water sports, which upset her very much. Megan wanted to know what these young people could do during the summer. She went home and researched summer camps for kids with cancer.

Finding “Happiness is Camping,” she decided to contact them to see if you could help. On their Web site she noticed a wish list. She decided she was going to raise money to help them with their list. She also wanted to obtain hats for the young people, ages 6-16, to wear while they were at camp. The sun can be very hard on kids getting medication. One of the items the camp was also in need of was new books.

Megan rallied her group and they decided to host an event called Happy Hats. Happy Hats was held at Planet Hollywood. More than 200 people attended and 30 models came to the event, including kids who wanted to help others. The angels had contacted many celebrities and had gathered items such as signed balls by Sammy Soto, signed shirts by Law and Order reps, and more. The most unique items were signed celebrity hats. Megan and her sister had been extras in Dawson’s Creek, so they started there. They were able to collect hats from Charlie Daniels, Regis, and much more. The auction of celebrity memorabilia gathered raised a total of $9,000.

The camp also received more than 1,200 hats, 200 books, and a printer. The S.J. Cancer Fund received enough money to purchase a hearing aid for a young victim with cancer who had lost his hearing from chemotherapy. Happiness Is Camping will have two of the Autumn Angels as counselors this summer, and one of them will be with the handicapped children.

Making the days happy of sick children is one goal that the Autumn Angels felt they achieved. As the camp director told them, for some kids the camp is the kids last week at happiness. It’s as plain and simply as that. For these three Angels, collecting items for hours, and working with the kids, helped make the week happier for many.