Buckle UPLocal DC/MD Event Helps Encourages Families to Value Life by Making Wise Choices and Wearing Seatbelts
DC -MD Love-A-Palooza, a Fun-Filled, Family Jamboree
WASHINGTON/Gaithersburg, MD (RPRN) “Value Your Life!,” the slogan for a family festival that encourages the use of seatbelts for everyone, as well as the importance of making wise life choices. Love-a-palooza is the brainstorm of a group of Gaithersburg youths that decided to make a difference.
This festival will indirectly raise funds to help a fellow student pay major medical bills resulting from a serious automobile accident. The kids decided that this is a community problem that happens again and again, and it was time to take a stand to help teens and parents understand the importance of wearing their seatbelts and making wise decisions that sustain the value of life. This group of young people have shown remarkable energy, interest, commitment, and caring for their cause as well as their friend in need, to encourage others so that this kind of tragedy never happens again. With so many bad news stories that bludgeon us today, this is a happy tale that tells us that perhaps we’re doing a good job raising our kids after all.
This fun, family festival, thoughtfully named LOVE-A-PALOOZA will be held May 9th, 2009 at the Longwood Community Center, 19300 Georgia Avenue, Brookville, MD 20833 from 10am until 3pm. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. The Love-a-Palooza Event will feature live music by local performers, a DJ, karaoke, moonbounce, face painting, a silent auction, a raffle, and a bake sale, community demonstrations from fire and police, plus food from area restaurants. All proceeds will be dedicated to assist in the payment of their friend’s increasing medical bills.
The accident that inspired this cause occurred on Sunday, February 10, 2008, when the 5th District Montgomery County Police and Fire and Rescue personnel found a lone vehicle occupant unconscious, unresponsive, and in need of medical attention. The driver, not wearing a seatbelt, had lost control of the vehicle on a rain-slick road, run off the road and hit a tree. The 19-year old woman, a Gaithersburg resident & student at Montgomery College, as well as a graduate of Magruder High School, was transported by helicopter with near fatal injuries to the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.
The victim had suffered right subdural hematoma with an extensive midline cranial shift, bilateral cerebral contusions; grade 4 liver lacerations, a collapsed lung, and a ruptured spleen. She underwent a right sided craniotomy for the brain injuries, surgery to repair the internal injuries and a splenectomy to remove the ruptured spleen. She remained in a coma for seven weeks before being transported to a rehabilitation hospital for six months of in-patient care. She is now out of the hospital and improving steadily with regular outpatient physical, occupational, speech, and vocational therapy, which she will require for an extensive time.
Her friends came to the rescue with wonderful moral support that not only sparked her will to live, but also helped her to heal physically, mentally and emotionally. Her friends have now organized a gala event, they call LOVE-A-PALOOZA, with the help of many local business sponsors, their hope is to help pay the large medical bills incurred, and send an important message to our community adults and teens: Value your life! Buckle Up and always make wise choices that will keep you smiling!
Contact for more information:
Janie Allen at 301-802-3964 at janiegallen@yahoo.com or Emily Hodson at PixyPal4@aol.com.
Celia Kibler, fitness expert and founder of DC/MD Funfit Family Fitness center, celia@funfit.us
Source: RushPRnews