PFF
Hosts Mother-Daughter
Bowling Event
Foundation
Gives the Girls
Equal Time
5.17.09
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Anything boys can do, girls
can
have a blast doing
too.
For the
past three years, the Pujols
Family Foundation has treated
sons with Down syndrome and
their dads to Hitters and
Splitters, an invitation only-bowling
event with Albert Pujols held
each August.
Meanwhile,
Deidre Pujols and the PFF
have held two amazing tea
parties and a pizza party
for special daughters and
their moms. But this spring
the gals were treated to their
very own bowling party with
the Pujols family.
The
teas were really nice, but
the bowling is more interactive,
says mom Darlene Martin, whose
daughter Erica is 5. They
can run around and I dont
have to ask her to be quiet.
Its fun to dress up
and go out for the tea, and
this is the flip side, and
they can be really active.
Ericas having a blast.
Darlene,
Erica and nearly 200 other
moms and daughters hit the
40 lanes at Brunswick Zone
in Chesterfield on Sunday,
May 17, and bowled and danced,
noshed and chatted and even
played with Charlie the Tortoise,
a 100-pound sulcata tortoise
best known for his escape
from Petropolis for a week
in 2007.
The
father-son bowling weve
done has been such a success
and the boys have had such
a great time, said Jen
Cooper, PFF program manager.
The moms had been asking,
`When do we get our chance.
And we thought why not.
Ive already had some
of the moms come to me and
say how much fun theyre
having and how much their
girls love to bowl.
Another
plus for the gals was that
Albert was able to join wife
Deidre and daughter Isabella
at the lanes, after baseball
conflicts kept him from previous
mother-daughter events.
Girls night
began at 7 p.m. and Albert,
who had collected two hits
vs. the Brewers hours earlier,
was immediately engulfed in
a sea of pink as even the
youngest girls seemed to know
immediately who he was. Hugs
and pictures ensued, then
Deidre began with a prayer
and the pins began to drop.
After a
few frames, Albert spent almost
an hour going from lane to
lane to pose for more pictures,
share more hugs and talk with
the moms and daughters, who
ranged in age from about 2
well into adulthood.
She
knows everything about him,
said Jackie Baniak of daughter
Mackenzie, 10, who went right
up to him after also watching
him at the game that afternoon.
She actually talked
to him about the game today.
She told him good job, and
he laughed and said, `We lost.
Charlie
Second
only to Albert and Deidre
in popularity was Charlie.
Two summers ago, Charlie made
the news when he wandered
out of Petropolis, a pet care
facility in the Chesterfield
Valley. Searchers hit the
streets, a $1,000 reward was
offered and updates on local
news channels ensued. A week
later, Charlie finally was
found, near Best Buy.
These days,
Charlie, whos 11 now
and should reach 350 pounds
when fully grown, is safely
back at Petropolis (which
has a new front door), and
Tortoise Whisperer
Brad Watts of Petropolis takes
him to various events, where
he inevitably draws a crowd.
Curiosity,
excitement, I havent
had anybody be scared of him,
said Brad. The children
here are no different than
the adults are with him. Charlie
brings out the kid in everyone.
Volunteers
Helping
everything run smoothly were
nearly 60 volunteers, including
about 30 young energetic women
from Mercy Ministries.
A volunteer
in every lane made sure each
mom and daughter had more
than enough Papa Johns
Pizza, McAlisters cookies,
Coldstone Creamery ice cream
and soda to drink. They also
guided the mothers and daughters
to where they could get their
pictures taken together by
Lace Images and handed out
glow sticks, laughed and played
with girls and got the girls
dancing everything from the
cha cha to cotton eye joe.
I
expected the kids to be more
shy, says Mandie Swinford,
18, one of the Mercy Ministries
volunteers. Theyre
awesome! I love working with
the kids. I love it.
Some things
dont change
Perhaps
the only drawback to the bowling
vs. the other mother-daughter
events was that it was hard
to get in too much girl talk,
unlike at the teas when Deidre
shared her testimony with
the moms and the moms had
a little quieter setting to
share their stories with each
other.
But even
in the new setting, certain
aspects of the PFF event remained
unchanged:
--Moms
with younger daughter were
able to get a glimpse into
what the future might hold
for their daughter.
Among the
most inspirational young women
was Stephanie Schechter, 36,
who works Monday-Friday and
lives on her own and also
volunteers in the community
with High 5, a group the PFF
sponsors.
I
like to bowl, said Stephanie.
I like Pujols, hes
a good baseball player.
I
always enjoy seeing her with
her contemporaries,
said her mom, Eileen. And
I think the parents with younger
children love seeing the older
kids and how well theyre
functioning and what theyre
doing. When Stephanie was
younger, I loved seeing the
older kids with Down syndrome,
its very inspiring.
--New friends
were made.
Lanes were
assigned by age, so the older
girls from all over the metro
area were paired with other
older girls and their moms.
In one
lane, Pat Kinney and Katherine
Gregus were able to meet and
get in some spirited action
with their daughters, Beth
and Bridget, whose scores
were just as high as their
moms, if not higher.
It
was nice that they gave us
a team right away, Pat
said. We didnt
have a choice and thats
nice because it helped us
meet more people.
Bridget
Kinney, 29, also danced and
had Albert sign her shirt,
and Beth Gregus, 31, was all
smiles too.
--The moms
didnt have to explain
their daughters differences
to anyone.
I
was just thinking how beautiful
it is that all of the kids
here look like my daughter,
I dont have to apologize
for, said Darlene Martin.
I can be free with her
here. It gives me a calmness
and sense of normality.
Making it all
possible
In addition,
Michael Geerlof of Mikes
Balloon Creation Company made
an amazing array of balloon
figures, everything from Elmo
to giant wearable butterfly
rings to Spider Man, complete
with web.
And, many
fabulous sponsors contributed
to create a great parting
gift for everyone. Tucked
inside a backpack embroidered
with the Pujols Family Foundation
logo were items from the St.
Louis Cardinals (a voucher
for two tickets to a game),
a Build-A-Bear Workshop bear,
schools supplies from Office
Depot, matching mother-daughter
necklaces from Shawn Paul
Jewelry, a Pujols baseball
bracelet from Gamewear and
coupons for Brunswick Lanes,
McDonalds, and Velvet
Crème Popcorn. Each
backpack also contained the
book Women Chat Gods
Spirit, which was autographed
by author Kristin Gembala.
So whats
next for the girls? In addition
to the upcoming Home Run Derby
in June, the PFF will again
be offering cooking classes
for the girls. Only this year,
the boys can come to. Anything
girls can do, boys can have
a blast at too!
Click
here for photo slideshow
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