http://www.witharmswideopen.org/default.cfm
Just click in the text under the picture to get to the journal.
I thought some of you might enjoy reading what WAWO and Scott did for their summer project this year. There is quite a bit to read...but well worth the time.
Just so nice to read about the wonderful things Scott does with the foundation.
This is a post from the pit from someone who went on the trip.
Wanted to tell you all about the great experience I had this summer with my daughter, Kate... all thanks to Scott Stapp.
I entered the With Arms Wide Open Foundation annual Parent/Child summer trip contest. I had to write a letter answering the questions and explaining why I felt Kate and I would benefit from the trip and why we otherwise could not afford to go on this trip. I could not believe this, but 3 weeks later I received a call from Cindy McNeely, director of WAWOF, and she told me that Kate and I had been selected. There were over 200 applicants and only 10 parent/child couples were chosen. We were so excited!!!!!! We left three weeks later for Washington DC, all expenses paid.
We stayed at a beautiful luxury motel at the Washington Mall. We had an awesome tour guide group, Close-Up Foundation, with two wonderful guides that led us on a whirlwind tour of Washington DC. We saw the Museum of American History, Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, the National Zoo, Mount Vernon, the Vietnam, Korean, and Lincoln, and Jefferson Memorials, the Marine Corps Band, Arlington Cemetery, The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, we toured the US Capitol, sat in a session of Congress, and with the hard work of Cindy and Scott, even got to tour the White House.
I just can't tell you all how special this trip was for Kate and I and for the other families involved. At the end of the seven day trip, most of us had bonded quite strongly with the other families. What a great group.
On our last night there, we all got together in the hotel banquet room for our final meal together. Right before dinner, the phone rang in the room, which I thought was odd. Cindy answered it and told Matt it was for him. (Matt was the oldest boy on the trip, he's 16.) He took the phone and got this weird look on his face and just sat there silent. Finally Cindy said to Matt, "It's Scott Stapp!" Matt's face was classic. Total surprise and disbelief. Anyway, Scott talked to each child, taking his time and speaking personally with information he received from Cindy. When he spoke with Kate, he mentioned all of Kate's cats and they talked about cats for awhile. She also told him thanks and that we were big Creed fans. He seemed to appreciate that. None of the adults got to talk to him, but that was okay. The kids were totally pumped about it!!
Just wanted to share this amazing experience with you...the trip to DC really helped Kate and I. We experienced something together that we will always remember, even in 20 years from now. I am so thankful to Scott Stapp and WAWOF for making this possible for us. I never thought we would win the trip, so it was just so wonderful!!
If you want to see pictures of the trip, you can go to
www.witharmswideopen.org and see the trip pictures and Cindy's interactive diary. It shows everywhere we went and what we did. Pretty cool.
One more thing...I found it interesting that myself and one other woman were the only Creed fans in the group. Most were indifferent and some had never heard of Creed at all. (gasp) So I got to do some explaining of what a great band Creed is to those who had never heard of Creed. Plus Cindy played DSD and some other songs on our final dinner night together.
Shimane