Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
The Worland Middle School homeroom class that collected the most pulltabs for the Shriners Children's Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House. They are (front kneeling, l-r): Taylre Parker, Kinlee Hofmann, Paige Lungren and Wynter Jones; (back row) Ethan Walter, Angelica Carlson, Kinley Kiser, Brynlee Roady, Madelyn Robertson, Liette Brown, Mrs. Trista Jones, Caden Clark, Lucas Ramirez, Zane Lentsch and Kaden Schauble.
WORLAND - Worland Middle School eighth grader Liette Brown had back surgery at a Shriners Hospitals for Children in Pennsylvania a few years ago and ever since she has been working to give back.
She said she does one to two fundraising projects every year. The first project this year was collecting pull tabs. She said she got the idea from visiting a patient at a Shriners Hospitals for Children. She did research and found that they can get money from the pull tabs to help the hospital.
"I talked to some teachers in the school and we started to come up with a plan for the school," Brown said. She also placed collection buckets in various businesses around Worland. Brown's best friend Aubree Kruger is helping her with the community fundraiser.
The school began their collection campaign about a month ago and it ended on Friday, Feb. 26. Collections around town are continuing through July.
Donations from the school will be made to the Ronald McDonald House in Billings, the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Salt Lake City and, if there are enough donations, to the SCH in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where Brown had her surgery.
"I do these fundraisers to help kids in these hospitals. I've done three fundraisers so far. My first year I did a blanket drive, then a pillowcase drive and last year was a sock drive. We raised a lot of money through the sock drive. This year is the pop tabs and I have a whole list of things I'm excited to do," Brown said.
"I enjoy the opportunity to do these types of things. It just means I'm giving the kids in the hospital more opportunity to do what they want," Brown said.
She said she sponsors 20 children every year not financially but offering emotional and mental support. "I write letters to the kids to make sure they are not freaking out. I freaked out a lot during mine. It was really rough. I write letters and I send them care packages," Brown said.
She also reaches out to the parents to see how the children's surgeries have gone.
"I enjoy doing it. It's always a pleasure to see these kids who have been through so much to turn into something great," she said.
Brown said a few years ago she met one of the children she sponsored when she went for her own checkup. "I still talk to all of the kids I have sponsored," Brown said. She added that the children she has sponsored have become sponsors themselves.
She said after going through her own trauma and surgery she just wanted to be able to help people. "I feel like my surgery changed me in a way. I became a sponsor, I sponsor over 20 kids a year and do these fundraisers every year," she said.
"I just want to say thank you to everyone. It's been a huge, humongous turnout and I'm thankful for everyone in the school district and for all the companies we have involved. I really am extremely thankful," Brown said.
Liette is the daughter of Travis Brown and Beth Brown.
