May 5th would have been Theresa's "Sweet 16". In honor of her 16th birthday, the Foundation will be celebrating "The Art of the Angels" on Friday, April 26, 2002.

The following schools have graciously volunteered to donate art (as medicine??) by their exceptional student artists: BOCES at St. Charles and Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf will be joining other schools.

During the Eighth Annual Theresa Awards Dinner, we will be raffling off these exceptional artworks. The schools who donate will receive monetary grants to support their programs in art therapy.

If you are interested in this or know of an organization who would be interested in participating in this program, please contact Board Member Judy Murdaugh-Jackson at (516) 683-1717 ext. 2154.

"Special Eggs"

Edited Excerpts from Opening Address at the Seventh Annual Theresa Awards (April, 2001)
by Elizabeth J. Russo

Editor's Note: We are pleased to share this warm and inspirational address written with deep love by Theresa's sister, Lizzy, and published on Theresa's Sixteenth Birthday.

There is so much to be said about the Theresa Foundation. For ten years, the Foundation has been making a difference in the lives of special children. This year, the foundation gave an increasing number of grants to benefit children in need.

It blows my mind to think that one little girl could inspire so many people to make a difference!

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone here, especially our board of directors and all award recipients for making this foundation a success. Our special thanks go to Mom and Dad. For the past seven years, they have given out special awards to publicly recognize those who unselfishly provide love, care, and opportunity for the "earth bound" angels. Sometimes, I feel that they overlook themselves and how important and amazing they are. Thank you, because without your love, care, strength and stamina none of this would be possible.

This has been a remarkable year for the Foundation, as well as for my family. Earlier this year I wrote a narrative entitled "Special Eggs" for a college English course I was taking. I would like to share some excerpts from "Special Eggs" with you now.

"Humans don't understand the meaning of life. We just don't get it." Mr. Hoare, my theater teacher, is saying: "It's like a quilter's ring. When we look at it upside down, it appears to be a mess. There is string and yarn everywhere, forming what appears to be no pattern at all. However, if we look at it right side up, it forms a beautiful picture. Each ugly piece of string and yarn from the bottom is pulled through to form a piece of the picture at the top. Imagine the ring hung around our heads, like a halo. We look up and can only see the bottom of the ring. We think, ' What the heck is that? ' It doesn't make any sense. The angels look down and see the whole picture, and they think it's beautiful. Only they can understand the true beauty of the world. Only once we are gone can a person truly understand life, unless you are a poet or a saint. It is said only poets and saints understand the true meaning of life."

Mr. Hoare completes his thought and I can feel the warm tears streaming down my face. All these years I never understood, until this moment. I always knew she is happier in Heaven, but now I understand. She can see the picture clearly now. She knows what I will not know until I see her again, someday. I try my hardest to understand that all things happen for a reason. I try my best to understand other people and the way things work. I try as hard as I can to understand the meaning of life, but I can't for I am neither a poet or a saint.

The doctors warned my mom that Theresa would never be like a "normal" child. She wouldn't be able to smile, ever. One day, my mom was working in the kitchen and she was singing to Theresa, who smiled at her mommy! My mom was so excited; she knew those doctors were wrong. Over the next week, my mom kept a camera on her at all times so she could catch my sister's amazing smile, and she did. It is the most angelic picture I have ever seen. Theresa's smile could make anyone feel what the word "love" really means – it was the warmest, most honest, happy smile I have ever seen.

She would laugh a lot too. If you shook her real hard, she would laugh so hard she would run out of air, she loved it. However, my Mom didn't. She would always warn me not to shake her too hard, just in case. "She is not a doll. She is a human being," Mom would say. It was unspoken, but we all knew Theresa was our little gift from God. I shared a room with her. Sometimes she would get sick and my parents would rush her to the hospital. It wasn't rare to go visit her in the hospital, but she always came home, back to our room and back to school. I always knew we would ride the ramp to get on the bus again, and if I shook her real hard she would laugh and her face would gleam with happiness. She would be fine. She was a very strong kid.

My parents are the strongest people I know. They started this Foundation in memory of Theresa. The Theresa Alessandra Russo Foundation was formed to help disabled children and their families. It's amazing how my parents turned a life-altering nightmare into a positive outlook to help others.

Many people say I was given a gift that I couldn't keep forever. They are wrong. Theresa, my little gift, will always live on through the foundation and in my heart. She is part of everything that I do. She is my guardian angel. She is my strength. She is my hope. She is with me forever and always.

I wipe the tears off my face. Everyone gets up automatically, like robots, and start to exit the auditorium. I quickly gather my things. Mr. Hoare does the same. I look above me thinking I would find a quilter's ring hanging, like a halo. It wasn't there, but I knew it really was, and above that ring was Theresa, still smiling her beautiful smile. I love you I think as I enter the hallway. I know she can hear me; she is somewhere out there, smiling down on me, and you, and all of us. For she understands life, and thinks it's beautiful.

Thank you all for celebrating Theresa's birthday with us.

Remembering Theresa

She brings courage to silence,
peace to the soul,
divine love to the heart.

Save these Dates!

THE EIGHTH ANNUAL THERESA AWARDS
honoring
Anthony Caporrino
Kate A. Mewhinney

Friday Evening, April 26, 2002

7:30 PM Reception
8:30 P.M. Dinner and Dancing

Sands at Lido
Lido Beach, New York

Golf Outing

Monday, June 24, 2002
Woodcrest Country Club

Syosset, New York
SHOT GUN TEE-OFF at 12:30 p.m. Sharp!
(Brunch at 10:00 a.m.)

AWARDS
• Longest Drive
• Low Gross/Net for Men
• Low Gross/Net for Women
• Hole in One
• Closest to the PiN

DONATION: $300 per Individual Player Registration

Registration includes green fees, driving range, valet parking, golf cart, brunch, cocktails and buffet dinner, prizes and 50/50 Raffle.