Tag Archives: Ryan Bell

Young Heifer Fundraiser Nominated for National Scholarship

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Ever since we received a letter about Ryan Bell almost three years ago, we’ve known there was something extra special about him. He hasn’t had the easiest go in life, but he’s never let his differences stand in his way. And despite his hardships, Ryan has always wanted to make life easier for others.

As a 10-year old, Ryan convinced his family that they really could be doing more with their annual penny auction fundraiser that benefited both Heifer and a local charity. He just wasn’t satisfied with the amount they were able to donate.

In the past two years, with the help of his family, friends and his community, Ryan has raised nearly $40,000 for Heifer International. And he just doesn’t quit. When Ryan reached his lofty goal of raising $25,000 for Heifer just before Christmas of 2012, his first thought was that he should go for another Gift Ark, or $5,000 more. When he reached THAT goal, he immediately said he wanted to go for $50,000.

Ryan Bell shows off the certificate he received indicating he was nominated for the Kohl's Cares Scholarship Program. Ryan's teachers nominated him for his work fundraising for Heifer International among other volunteer endeavors.

Ryan Bell shows off the certificate he received indicating he was nominated for the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program. Ryan’s teachers nominated him for his work fundraising for Heifer International among other volunteer endeavors.

His giving spirit hasn’t just captured the attention of those of us here at Heifer, either. Laura Bell, Ryan’s Mom, just let us know that Ryan’s team of teachers at his school in Connecticut recently nominated him for the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship.

That scholarship is given by the retailer every year to recognize “young volunteers across the country for their amazing contributions to their communities,” the Kohl’s website says. The criteria for the scholarship indicate that volunteer efforts must have occurred in the last year, and that winners are selected based on the benefits and outcomes of their volunteer service.

With Ryan’s record of fundraising, and his reputation at school as a Student of the Month and as part of the Student Government group where he’s organized other fundraisers, his team of  teachers put together the nomination form and essay and submitted it on Ryan’s behalf.

“He was too funny,” Laura said. “The six teachers called him into a room which was otherwise empty. He said it looked like he was in trouble and they joked with him that he was and then presented the certificate. He was so excited!”

Laura said there are winners at the local, regional and national level, but Ryan won’t find out if he’s a winner of the local scholarship until May.The regional winner will be announced in June and the national winner in July. Prizes range from a $50 gift card to the store up to a $10,000 in scholarship for National Winners.

Whatever the outcome, we’re proud just to know Ryan. It’s an honor knowing he’s our supporter, and is sharing our mission with others. So good luck, Ryan! We’ll be anxiously awaiting to hear whether you’ve been selected for the scholarship. You should know you’re already a winner to all of us here at Heifer.

To help Ryan reach his $50,000 goal, visit his Team Heifer page. 

A Person is a Person No Matter How Small

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. Today is Dr. Suess’s birthday and Read Across America Day, so I thought it was fitting to highlight one of my favorite Dr. Suess books, Horton Hears a Who, and this activity I found on suessville.com.

Dr. Suess

Photo credit: suessville.com

Not only is Horton Hears a Who entertaining, like so many of Dr. Suess’s  books it also has an inspiring moral: “A person’s a person no matter how small.” This goes along great with Heifer’s mission of helping the world’s poor and our 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development.

If you don’t happen to have the book or movie on hand, you can find a great synopsis of the plot on Wikipedia. In short, Horton (an elephant) hears a small speck of dust talking and learns that it is actually a tiny planet home to the Whos who live in Whoville. They are in danger of being destroyed, and Horton wants to help. He agrees, proclaiming, “even though you can’t see or hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small.” Horton is laughed at for this and no one will help. Finally, the Whos are loud enough to be heard by others, and they are saved.

This activity, A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small—So share a good deed that made you feel tall! (found on www.suessville.com) suggests having a  discussion about what your kids have done to help someone in their family, school or community. 

What did they do? How did they help? After talking about it, have the kids draw a picture of their good deed or write something about what they did. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Did they:

  • Help Mom or Dad with chores?
  • Volunteer in the community?
  • Baby-sit for a little brother or sister?
  • Send a card to cheer up a friend?
  • Recycle and help the environment?

I also found a lesson plan with more interesting questions if you want to go deeper:

  1. What did Horton do that was so important?
  2. How do you think it made the Whos feel that Horton cared so much?
  3. What would have happened to the Whos if Horton didn’t protect them?
  4. What was the lesson of this story?
  5. What does, “a person’s a person no matter how small” mean?
  6. Have you ever done a good deed for someone else? How did it make them feel? How did it make you feel?
Ryan Bell

Ryan Bell and his sister, Meghan.

When I think about Horton helping so many on that tiny planet, I am reminded of 12-year-old Ryan Bell, who is doing all he can to spread the word and get others involved in helping Heifer project participants around our planet. If you like the story of Horton hearing the Who, you’ll love reading about Ryan, who is getting the world to hear him, recently raised $30,000 for Heifer International.

Ryan Bell Doubles Transformation Goal for Heifer International

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Ryan and his cousin count money from a fundraiser.

Ryan and his cousin count money from a fundraiser.

Twelve-year-old Ryan Bell from Wallingford, Conn., knows a thing or two about transformation. Because of Treacher Collins Syndrome, a cranio-facial disorder that affects the bone and soft tissue formation of the face, he has endured 37 surgeries, the latest of which was to remove a tracheotomy, which had helped him breathe. Ryan’s ongoing physical transformation, combined with his love for animals and desire to help others, which he shares with his sister Meghan, inspired the siblings to work hard to raise $25,000, also known as a “Gift of Transformation,” for Heifer International. Ryan and Meghan surpassed their goal and have no plans of stopping. Next stop: $50,000.

 

Help Ryan and Meghan make it to $50,000.

 

 

Watch Ryan tell his story:

Ryan Bell Gives Gift of Transformation

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Ryan Bell

Ryan surpassed his $25,000 goal on December 14. He's currently at $27,705. Let's help him get to $30,000.

I have to admit, I was skeptical. When I wrote and blogged about the second of the two stories on Ryan Bell, I fully expected it to take much longer before he reached his goal of raising enough money for a $25,000 Gift of Transformation.

But this remarkable young man proved me wrong. Again. Ryan reached his goal lofty goal late last week, and his Team Heifer page continues to bring in money. I’m truly grateful to have been able to tell his story; to have gotten to know Ryan and his family.

But the best part of all of this? Ryan isn’t done. He’s not satisfied with reaching his goal years before he expected to. When I contacted Ryan’s mom, Laura, last week, she was going to text him at school to tell him the news. He was thrilled, she said. Their conversation went a little like this:

Laura: “It made his day!  So, that afternoon we looked up the new total and I said, ‘You know, at this rate you might be able to add a camel to your goal.’  You know my son by now… He said, ‘Mom, I think we should add an Ark!’”

Right now he’s more than half-way to reaching his NEW goal of adding $5,000 more to his remarkable total. If you want to help Ryan, you can go to his Team Heifer page and donate.

Around the Web: Kids With a Cause, Tikkun Olam and Holiday Lists

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Every Sunday we highlight some of the people who are funding our work creatively or helping us spread the word of our mission online. If you spot Heifer International while you’re surfing the web or know of a fun or creative fundraising effort, please share it with us here in the comments.

You’ll be impressed by 12-year-old Ryan Bell, who’s made a goal of raising $25,000 for Heifer’s Gift of Transformation. Ryan was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a cranio-facial disorder. He sees the Gift of Transformation as a reflection of his own year of transformation, which has been full of extensive surgeries. NOTE: We are excited to share that Ryan has reached his lofty goal, but let’s see if we can help get him even further!

Ryan Bell and his sister, Meghan. Photo credit: New Haven Register

Thanks to the Congregation Shomrei Torah, who is promoting donations to Heifer this Hanukkah: “We’re really looking to help people around the world. In Hebrew we call it Tikkun Olam, which means ‘repairing the world.’”

Lucinda and Clara Becker manned a booth sponsored by Laguna Presbyterian Church to benefit Heifer International. They brought their own pet chickens to bring attention to their booth, and according to reports, it worked.

Clara and Lucinda Becker and their pet chickens. Photo Credit: Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot

Gift Guides/Gift Ideas/Charities Lists
Thank you to all who mentioned Heifer in gift guides and in their charity lists this past week. Here are some we came across:

 

 

Giving Independence

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It’s hard not to be pleasantly overwhelmed by the kindness of others when you’re in my business. For each issue of World Ark, I get to write about donors who love Heifer’s mission so much that they go to great lengths to provide a gift of livestock to the families in need all around the world.

Meghan and Ryan Bell in June 2012

But one donor in particular has really inspired me, and I find it a true pleasure to have gotten to know him and his family over the past couple of years.

Ryan Bell was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a disorder that causes malformations of the face. The 11-year-old from Wallingford, Conn., has endured 37 surgeries, and just last week had a tracheotomy—a device which helped him breathe—removed. But Ryan knows his birth defect is nothing compared to what some families face.

An animal lover, Ryan convinced his parents in 2009 that their annual giving should go to Heifer International, a nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger and poverty by providing gifts of livestock and training to families in need around the world. In two short years Ryan  raised nearly $9,400 for the charity. We profiled Ryan and his little sister, Meghan, in last year’s Holiday edition of the magazine when they were hoping to raise $850 for a camel.

Ryan before the surgery to lengthen his jaw (left) and after. He has since had his tracheotomy removed.

Well, Heifer donors came through for Ryan and Meghan, and the pair raised more than $8,600 last year. But this year, Ryan has upped his goal. Inspired by a surgery that helped lengthen his jaw and open his airway, Ryan has become set on raising $25,000, or Heifer’s “Gift of Transformation.”

I’ll let Ryan tell the rest, but you can read his whole story and his quest to raise the Gift of Transformation in the most recent edition of World Ark:

“I was excited when I saw the Gift of Transformation in the gift catalog because it reminds me of the transformation that I went through this year. I wasn’t excited to do this surgery and I wouldn’t have chosen it for myself. The doctor took my underdeveloped jaw and transformed my airway. It was a transformation for me,” Ryan said.

That transformation serves as his inspiration, he said.

“I want to give my own Gift of Transformation to the world. I want to send herds of heifers, llamas, and goats, flocks of sheep and chickens, a pen of pigs, a school of fish and a gaggle of geese to an underdeveloped area of the world and let a transformation take place as the gift is received, utilized and passed along. A Gift of Transformation can affect the lives of people in an entire village or community.”

“I don’t want to rely on a trach to breathe. I don’t want extra medical equipment and it would be great to not need a nurse or parent around at all times. I want my independence, just like these people want to be independent and take care of their own needs. They just need a different kind of assistance for their transformation; they need us.”

To help Ryan meet his goal, go to his Team Heifer page.