A hometown hero lends a hand in community
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Lauren Thorman wears her "cancer survivor" badge of courage with honor, as she should.
But Lauren, a sophomore at Edgewood High School, is more than that, too. Not that surviving thyroid cancer isn't enough.
Extras
"I can't let it define who I am," Lauren said last week in her Trenton home. "I am who I am. Not because of the cancer, but because that's the way I choose to live my life."
That way is the right way.
Lauren, along with two other students in the Edgewood District, Bryce Tucker, and Amber McIntosh, who have thyroid cancer, created a Web site — thykidz.com — to educate people of the signs and symptoms of thyroid cancer in youth.
In addition, Lauren participates in Relay for Life and volunteers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
And if a classmate needs assistance with any project, the first person on their speed dial is Lauren.
"I love doing it," she said of
volunteering.
She was introduced to community service in Girl Scouts when she was 11 and "it stuck," she said.
"It made a big impact on me," Lauren said.
Others are noticing, too. For the second straight year, Lauren — nominated by her mother, Stephanie Carper — has been named a semi-finalist in the 2007 search for Huggable Heroes. She is one of 119 young people recognized, honored and celebrated by Build-A-Bear Workshop.
The semi-finalists now compete in the next round of judging. By April 17, 30 finalists will be named. Ten 2007 Huggable Heroes will be selected and honored at ceremonies in St. Louis in July at the Build-A-Bear Workshop World Bearquarters.
This year, in honor of the 10th birthday of Build-A-Bear Workshop, the 10 Huggable Heroes will each receive $10,000 (a $7,500 educational scholarship and $2,500 from the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation to be donated to the charity of the hero's choice).
In addition, they will be featured in the 2008 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Heroes calendar.
All this from a young woman still learning to drive. When told she's mature for 15, Lauren smiled and said, "I get that a lot."
"She's a good kid," her mother said. "We don't tell her to do this stuff, she just does."
Lauren's sister, Lyndsay, 12, a sixth-grader at Edgewood Middle School, also is active in the community.
Right now, Lauren said she's not thinking about the accolades — the prize money or publicity — connected with her community service.
"It's not all about me," she said. "Helping out, well, that's common
courtesy."
Contact this columnist at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com.m.
