The theme for this contest was "Gifts From The Heart." I even like the name of the contest! It was about the gifts that really matter, gifts given or received with thought, creativity, and meaning.
We so often feel obligated to give gifts for certain occasions. We go out, try to buy something appropriate that we feel the person will like and that fits our budget, and hand it off. Those are social and polite gifts, and they have their place. But then there are the gifts that mean something special in the context of who we are and who we care about. Sometimes they might be a spur-of-the-moment gesture, while other times they are things we think about and plan and work toward. These are the gifts we really remember giving and receiving.
I remember a gift I gave my parents about six years ago. We were living in two different cities and hadn't seen each other for many months. My mother was feeling down and lonely. So I decided to surprise her -- to get a plane ticket and show up unannounced on her doorstep. It was great fun to see her face when she came to the door! Then there was an 80th birthday party we recently arranged for my father. My folks have moved into a retirement community. They moved from the city in which they had lived all their lives. It was a difficult transition. For his birthday, I arranged to have my father's favorite cake flown in from the old city, and had a complete Ukrainian meal catered (I don't cook especially well, but wanted my Dad to enjoy a meal "just like his Mom used to make"). It was wonderful. And I do like being on the giving end more than the receiving end -- it's true!
We had thousands of entries pour in from across the country for this contest, many in response to an article that appeared in Parade magazine. The entries were from children and adults (one of our winners is 9 years old while another is 82 years old!). Thank you so much for sharing your stories, funny to heartfelt to extremely unusual.
I always try to share with you some of the "stories behind the stories." We had many school classes enter the contest. Sharon E. Siegel from Delaware Valley School District wrote, "The students who entered this contest are currently fifth graders who have been participating in a special one-hour-a-day Writing Lab class to learn to become better writers. They are not students who usually enter writing contests, but they LOVED the topic and are (to our delight) learning to enjoy and be confident about their writing."
Teacher Kathy Moylan at Hugh R. Jones School in Utica, NY, entered our 9-year-old winner Olesya. She was thrilled at Olesya's runner-up award. "Olesya was born in the Ukraine and is one of six children," Kathy shared. "As a teacher for over 20 years, I was impressed by the innocence and wisdom of this child."
There are many people and organizations who make it possible for the Legacy Project to offer our various contests throughout the year. For their support and for generously supplying the contest prizes, I would like to thank Lane Furniture, Books Are Fun, MyFamily.com, and Geezer.com. I would also like to thank the judging committee for all their hard work. Special thanks goes to one of our lead judges, Jim Barry, for his continuing dedication and expertise.
We have more contests upcoming this year in conjunction with our new book Dream and the new Personal Best series of activity kits. Make sure you get on our Priority E-Mail List to get all the news!
Best wishes,
Susan V. Bosak
Chair, Legacy Project
Click here to find out the "Gifts From The Heart" Contest Winners
