From July 21, 2011
CHINCOTEAGUE -- Each year at Pony Penning, crowds come from states far away to see the wild ponies. Many choose their favorites to bid on, taking home their own Chincoteague foals.
Author Lois Szymanski is shown with Sea Feather. |
Fifteen-year-old Lindsey Geiser of Johnstown, Pa., wrote to the Feather Fund in her application. "Ever since I can remember I have loved horses and ponies and been drawn to them. As I learned more about ponies my passion for them grew."
She wrote, "My first grade teacher told me about an island where wild ponies lived. I was soon fascinated by this wild place and read any book I could, both fictional and nonfictional that involved horses and ponies.
Then my family visited Chincoteague."
Geiser said she'd been saving for a pony of her own since she was 11 years old. "I've shoveled sidewalks, mowed grass, raked leaves, walked dogs and babysat," she wrote.
The Feather Fund began helping children purchase foals in 2004. The charity was created in memory of Carollynn Suplee, an angel who visited the auction annually for each of the eight years she survived cancer, purchasing foals for a child.
She said it was her way of "giving back" for the gift of another year of life. When she passed in 2003, the families who had received pony gifts from her joined with her own family to form the charity. They wanted to keep her work alive.
Suplee found feathers often and said she believed they were God's way of telling her she would be OK. She cited Psalm 91:4 which says, the Lord will cover you with feathers and protect you. Before she passed she suggested the name, "The Feather Fund."
This year, "The True Story of Sea Feather" was released by Schiffer Books. Written by Lois Szymanski, it tells the true story of Suplee's first pony gift, a bay and white pinto colt named Sea Feather that was gifted to the author's own daughters in 1995.
When Kathryn and Owen Hooks of the Kite Koop heard the story of the Feather Fund, they offered to help the group raise funds. After brainstorming, they came up with a kid friendly event with a pony twist.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, July 26 and 27, author Lois Szymanski will sign her Chincoteague Pony books at the Kite Koop from 4-6 p.m. each evening. Her books will include "The True Story of Sea Feather."
Come out to meet Chincoteague Pony, Sea Feather and buy a book. What a great way to have a fun time and take home a new pony book to read, while contributing to the charity that makes wild pony dreams come true.
For more information on the event visit the Kite Koop online at: www.kitekoopandbookstore.com.
For information, visit www.featherfund.org and friend them on Facebook.
Source; http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110721/CB01/107210341/Feather-fund-helps-dreams-come-true?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Chincoteague Beacon|s
No comments:
Post a Comment