[Vision2020] Eric McMillan Scholarship Fund

[joanopyr at earthlink.net]

Dear Visionaries,

Say, here's a positive, community-building thought -- what about launching
a Vision 2020 fund drive for the Eric McMillan Scholarship?  Some kind of
"whatever you can afford" donation challenge.  I don't know how we could
manage this; write a check and put Vision 2020 in the memo space?  Have
some list member to volunteer to keep a discrete (and anonymous) account of
how much has been raised or how many have contributed?  Tom?  Scott?  Other
computer guys?  Is there any way to do this?  Send one dollar or send a
hundred.  How much doesn't matter; the challenge would simply be to get as
many of us as possible to donate.

What do you all think?  I'm off to New Orleans for a literary festival next
week, but I'm very willing to give up some beignets at the Cafe du Monde
for this.  (My taste buds want them, but my butt doesn't need them.)

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.auntie-establishment.com 

> [Original Message]
> From: Debbie Gray <dgray at uidaho.edu>
> To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Date: 5/2/2005 11:06:15 AM
> Subject: [Vision2020] Eric McMillan Scholarship Fund
>
> Press Release
>
> University of Idaho
> Moscow, ID 83844
> May 2, 2005
> Eric McMillan Memorial Scholarship
>
> A scholarship in memory of slain UI student Eric McMillan, who 
> died on September 19, 2004, is being created by his English 
> instructor, Marcia Kmetz, and Ethnic Literature professor, Jan 
> Johnson. Organizers must raise $25,000 to establish the 
> scholarship and are asking for donations of $5 from 5,000 
> donors.  
>
> An essay Eric wrote the week before his murder reflecting on 
> this young life in Oceanside, California inspired the 
> scholarship. He lived in this "bottom on high" until he was 12; 
> it was a city ruled by drug lords, overrun by crime, and 
> devastated by poverty. According to his writing instructor, 
> Marcia Kmetz, "many of the young men and women who grew up on 
> those streets did not survive them; Eric did. His essay 
> demonstrated such strength and such a mature recognition of his 
> responsibility for others that I was deeply moved. After his 
> death, this essay took on even greater importance. Eric was a 
> fine young man and his life was one of leadership and 
> friendship. He worked to improve race relations in his high 
> school community. He helped care for his ill mother. He made 
> many friends on our campus and left a lasting memory, a memory 
> of a kind, giving man."  
>
> Kmetz and Johnson want to memorialize Eric by creating a 
> scholarship targeted toward those who have escaped from 
> difficult circumstances and who have improved both their own 
> life and the lives of those around them. This scholarship will 
> be based primarily on character to reflect the best of Eric. 
> Says Kmetz, "Eric was a living symbol of the American Dream at 
> its finest, but was tragically denied the conclusion of that 
> dream. We'd like to let his memory live on by helping to provide 
> that dream to others."
>
> Scholarship organizers and friends of Eric McMillan will be 
> collecting donations for The Eric McMillan Memorial Scholarship 
> this Friday, May 6th in front of the Idaho Commons between 10 am 
> and 4 pm. Donations may also be dropped off at the Continuing 
> Education Building, Room 117, or mailed to campus zip 3147.  Off 
> campus donations should be mailed to:
>         	
> 	 Eric McMillan Memorial Scholarship
>              University of Idaho Foundation
>              Gift Administration Office
>              PO Box 443147
>              Moscow, ID 83844-3147
>
>
> Contact:
> Marcia Kmetz, kmet2153 at uidaho.edu
> Jan Johnson, janjohn at uidaho.edu
> Both can be reached through the UI Department of English, (208) 
> 885-6156
>
>
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