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Our Summer Splash!
 In late May 2009 a BIG dream became a reality! Over 20 children anxiously waited as the therapy pool was officially opened on the Padres y Compadres / Push International shared campus. Anna Rita (Rita's daughter) was the first to enter the pool. She was injured in a pool over 20 years ago which is why Padres y Compadres was started. It seems only right that she be the first person to step foot in the new pool that will provide her and all the other children with therapy for many years to come. The children have already made great gains in the pool and they are having a wonderful time taking part in their therapy.
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Bighearted Bride and Groom
Sarah Pugh and Jeff Peery were married in Tacoma, Washington
on June 5, 2009. The joyful couple decided to make a difference for someone
else on their big day. Instead of buying reception favors for each of their guests,
the couple decided to spend that money to sponsor a wheelchair for a child in
need in Mexico. Sarah, a recent graduate of the University of Puget Sound
Occupational Therapy Program and Team 10 Push International volunteer saw the
need for mobility first hand. Jeff, an engineer and brother to a wonderful
sister who uses a wheelchair herself, was excited about the idea. "We made a
difference in someone's life, we gave them a wheelchair, instead of spending
money on a little picture frame or wine opener for our guests, we made a
difference with our wedding," said the bride.
The Peery's donation will sponsor a wheelchair for young Mauro, a boy with
Cerebral Palsy who receives therapy services at our shared facility in Mazatlan.
When Sarah saw his picture on the wedding day, she came alive with excitement, "that
was the boy I got to work with when we were on the horses, that's my little
buddy!" she said. |
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Upcoming Fall Fundraiser
 Push International's 4th annual fall fundraiser will be held at the beautiful Crystal Lake Lodge in Woodinville, Washington on Saturday, September 19, 2009. Our entire board of directors and Rita Correa (founder of our Mexican partner organization, Padres y Compadres) will be joining us this year! It is sure to be an exciting event with wonderful food, drinks, auctions, presentations and live music and dancing.
We are currently working to solicit auction items to help raise funds for the organization. If you are interested, please contact Bree at bree.lair@pushinternational.org.
It is sure to be a great evening, so save the date!
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Team 11
 Team 11 was great! We had a very dedicated, hard working and enthusiastic team from Woodland
Park Community Church (CO), Venue 302 Church (KS), and Woodmen Valley Chapel
(CO). During the week we served over 50 families with disability
equipment! The work was challenging and rewarding. The distributions
ran incredibly smooth, especially considering one day was through the eye of a
tropical storm. Wow did the skies open up!
One exciting story from our week is about a 16 year old young boy named
Israel. He was born with cerebral palsy and received his first wheelchair
at the age of 10. Jeff M. was there that day, 6 years ago to give the first
wheelchair to this bright eyed boy. What a rewarding opportunity to see
him again, advancing and progressing in life physically and emotionally. He came to the distribution not in need of a new wheelchair, but instead, a walker to
advance his therapy. He has started attendingschool & physical therapy at
Centro de Esperanza, a new rehab center & school for children with disabilities
in Concordia, Mexico (1 hour inland from our Mazatlan Hub). The director at the center, Daniela Aguirre,
couldn't stop talking about how Israel never ceases to amaze her and
how much he is improving. She explained that he was not able to attend public school before the center opened, but
since the center opened he has begun learning to read and write! Daniela said "it won't
amaze me if the next time you come he will be using the
walker." This blessed our socks off. Sustainability is so
cool!
We have dozens more stories to
tell, but more than that, we hope you would consider coming with us to share in
one of these amazing stories yourself.
Read more about Team 11 at: http://pushinternational.org/Volunteer%20team%20updates/Volunteer%20team%20updates%20main.html
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