No truer words have been spoken. If you take a look at this young lady, you can see the determination on her face. Not just determination to kick a dummy at karate but determination to help make a difference in this sometimes rotten world. You see, Haley was a student in my school a couple of years ago. When I got sick, her mom made me special protein bars and Haley was always asking how I was doing. Haley is great at karate and is going for her next belt. In order to do so, she had to perform some type of community service. Well, her project was me!
When Rikki (her mom) asked if it would be okay for Haley to organize a fundraiser for me, I was astounded. Usually 11 year olds are looking to save the whales or puppies or something cute like that. They certainly aren’t looking to “save a secretary”. Haley was. This past Saturday at Westampton Martial Arts, Haley held a fundraiser called “Punching for Patti”. When she first thought of this, I think she envisioned people getting sponsors for a monetary donation per punch or kick. What actually happened is short of amazing. People and businesses purchased “sponsor spots” for t-shirts, businesses donated items and baskets for a chinese auction and others, well they just made donations.
When you think of all the hard work, time and energy that she put into something like this, it boggles your mind. When the Burlington County Times interviewed her she said something like…Mrs. Hobson was always kind to me and I wanted to do something for her. I was amazed and humbled by the amount of people who attended the event. Not only was my husband by my side (as he always is) but so were my sons and my parents. Some people came from an hour away (my precious family) and other people who I haven’t seen in years. I was overwhelmed by the number of people who gave up a portion of their busy Saturday to stop by.
Haley had a goal to raise $10,000. Her mom told me that she was “bummed” because she hadn’t reached it and asked her what else she could do. Well, she set up a “Go Fund Me” page at gofundme.com under Punching for Patti to see if she could make up the difference. Wow! She is incredibly amazing!
The reason I chose the quote in the title is because Haley is a prime example of how one person can make a huge difference in the world. She already has and if I’m right, you’ll be seeing a lot of her in the future. Thank you, Rikki and Len for raising not one but two wonderful daughters. I am truly blessed.
patti's journey 