Saturday, September 27, 2008

Passing of a Legend...Paul Newman

Why the title? What does Paul Newman have to with trains and JT? For those of you who are new to the blog, the project was chosen to be 2007 Make A Difference Day National Honoree. This distinguished title also includes a $10,000 grant from Newman's Own. It was Paul Newman's Company that actually funded all those youth projects through the Make A Difference Day mini - grants. 34 youth projects in two counties were made possible. Today and the next several days, JT and I would like to ask you to please reach out to the Newman family and to Newman's Own company. Take a few minutes from your busy lives and say a prayer. It is people like Mr. Newman wh0 reached out to millions of families and children throughout the years. Whether it was through the Hole in Wall Gang camps or through generous grants to kids like JT, his actions spoke volumes. To JT and I, the grant enabled us and the "Crew" to reach out to kids in communities throughout the Southern Tier; to say to kids everywhere, we believe in you. Winning the National Honoree title, was the first large step in validating a little boys dream and igniting his passion. The next large step in that validation process was the United Way of Cattaraugus County, Newmans Own and USA Weekend working together so a group of kids known simply as the "Crew" could put forth the dreams of others! Even though we never personally met Mr. Newman, JT took great pride when he was told by USA Weekend that Mr. Newman has his eye on JT and what he was doing. It is very hard for us to put in words the loss we feel this day and for many days to come. Thank you Newman's Own and thank you to the Newman family for sharing. Thank you for encouraging a young boy to dream and to never give up! There are no words to adequately describe what the NEwman family and Company are going through. Please take some comfort in knowing a little boy did not loose sight of his goals and when the chips were down he would laugh and ask to watch one of Mr. Newman's movies. JT's personal mission has even more meaning, not only to keep faith but to continue to inspire those around him as Mr. Newman did. God Bless the Newman family and Newman's Own. All Aboard!!
P.S. We did plan on posting about a NYC trip and the Extreme Train Makeover as well as shout outs to some wonderfull people. We felt that for now we will be silent in honor of Mr. Newman's passing and will continue chugging along the rails next week. Please visit www.newmansown.com and watch the You Tube video featuring Mr. Newman. I cried because I see a lot of JT's thoughts about kids and the project as Mr. Newman talks about his mission. Be back next week in the meantime.....

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