Southern Hancock students’ creative talents will be on display this year in the sixth annual Dani’s Dreams Memorial Walk/Run Aug. 3 at New Palestine High School.
Ali Kinder, a student at Zion Lutheran School is the winner of the T-shirt design contest. Kinder’s design will be featured on T-shirts for the event. Second place goes to Katie Taylor, a fifth grader at Zion Lutheran School and third place winner is Rylee Morris, sixth grader at Zion Lutheran School. Their designs will be posted online and used in walk/run brochures and on posters for the event.
Essay contest winner is Emma Mann, third grader at New Palestine Elementary. Her essay, which will be in walk/run brochures follows:
Peace Bear
By Emma Mann
New Palestine Elementary School
3rd grade
Everybody has different dreams. One person wants to be an astronaut. One wants to be a famous singer or a mailman, but my dream is a bit different. I like how people are happy all over the world. Some people are happy about a new toy. I am happy because I am well. Most people think that might be silly, but really it’s not.
One day I dreamed I could even spread a smile over sick people’s faces. So wherever they go, they’ll always feel happy and feel like something special. So I dreamed up the idea of giving a bear to my Aunt Julie who got cancer and was really sick. It was just to make her smile and have something to hold.
When I got the bear back, my teacher got cancer, so I gave the bear to her. I wanted to cheer her up too.
The bear is blue with peace signs all over it, and I call it Peace Bear. I am still waiting to get it back from my teacher. See it is like a traveling bear. I give sick people the bear with peace signs on it so they can have peace in their surgery.
I know I can do nothing about curing cancer, but I love how there are lovely smiles covering their faces. I feel like a hero to do that.
I just found out there is another teacher that has cancer at our school and when Peace Bear returns, I will give it to her and I hope she grins too.
Someday when I grow up I hope to have a bunch of bears to send out to sick people and I hope to see lots of people full of smiles looking back at me.
That’s my dream.
Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center is a resource for Hancock County schools, teachers, Scouts and all community groups for hands-on, innovative environmental education opportunities and state standards-based activities and projects. We’ll design a one-of-a-kind tour, activity or project for YOUR CLASS, based on YOUR NEEDS at NO CHARGE. Email dgriffins@netzero.com or call 317-640-4430 – Dream It, Do It!
Dani's Dreams Outdoor Education Programs 