Dear Editor: Every now and then stories about children being mistreated pop up in the newspaper. People skim them over and head for the sports section or the main headlines for the day. What people don’t know is that most cases of child abuse go unreported and the stories about it that they skim over are the only ones ever noticed. Throughout the U.S. kids are inflicted with pain day after day. Most of those kids go unnoticed and charities can only help so much, Next time the paper comes, look more closely at the reported cases and maybe in a few weeks time that child’s face will have that frown turned upside down. Thank you, (athuine BY pyyond, Catherine BlizzardDear Editor, Thave recently done a research paper about dog fighting. Many dogs and other animals are being abused in our country. Everyone needs to contribute because animals don’t even have a choice if they want to fight or not. Humans are putting poor and innocent dogs into a cage and abusing them. If we all donate money to help the cause, Jess animals will be abused. You may donate at htip://thoughtsfurpaws.com/category/dogfighting/ Thank you, Lah xTo Whom It May Concer: ‘Two hundred fifteen thousand Americans under the age of twenty, have diabetes. Diabetes is usually caused by obesity, which is a major problem in society. Children are surrounded by television, fast food, and negative medias they are living in a world where it is easy to be obese and have that lead to diabetes. Parents have been part of the issue as well, When the problem was presented in several state courts dealing in the cases of morbidly obese children, they declared the children were in fact victims of child neglect. ‘A South Carolina woman recently lost possession of her fourteen-year-old son after being charged with criminal child neglect when the boy's weight reached ait five hundred fifty five pounds, Everyone has the choice of what to eat and choosing could mean disease or ‘obesity, and diabetes could mean death. This country needs to erack down on physical activity and cut down on MeDonalds. Sincerely, George RodriguezDear to whom it may concern, {n class | did a report on a serious issue in the United States. It is called animals experimentation. Poor animals die and are tested on Just to test out new products. Many without any use of pain killers. People need to realize how important animals really are! They are very similar to us, humans, and | do ‘not think that we would want to be experimented on, so why should animals? People are trying to stop this problem, but it will be very expensive and take time. People and companies will not stop. Hopefully in a few years animal testing will become illegal. Sincerely, Katie O'Hagan age:13‘To Whom It May Concern, Pollution is a big problem-all around the world! People need to take action as soon as possible Some people, including For The Love Of The Lake (FTLOTL) members, have already seen this troublesome problem, and have given up their time to fix it in their own community. FTLOTL is a local Dallas organization that sponsors fun “'go green” projects and protects the wildlife and White Rock Lake from further pollution. Although their actions have helped improve pollution, wwe all need to “pitch in” and help. Local newspapers, like Dallas Morning News, or other newspaper and magazines need to publish updates on pollution and on FTLOTL. Publications can review FTLOTL’s website and keep people updated on helpful hints to keeping pollution out of the lake and park (like properly throwing away fertilizers and chemicals), as well as keeping readers informed about current events and fundraisers. If you put this information at everyone’s disposal, we can all help wildlife live, we can all help control the worldwide problem of pollution, and we can all make a difference. Thank you, Jonah they Sarah Troy‘To whom it may concern | have been concerned that the welfare of many children has been going down because of the economy and many children go hungry each day. They do not know when their next meal is. They will go and live ‘on the street. if we don’t help them, then all of the children will be on the street. So please help these children, all of you are our only hope, so please donate to an organization. Sincerely W/ 7To Whom It May Concern, It is said in the Bible that God created animals on the sixth day of creation, like us. Shouldn't we treat them with a little more respect than we do today? Animals all over the world are suffering from experimenting, fur clothing, puppy mills, and dissection. It is painful to think that some people still don’t try to stop animal cruelty. They say it would pose a “mortal threat” to human society. Everyone can help put a stop to animal cruelty by standing up against it. To do this, we can join animal rights charities like ASPCA or PETA. These organizations help prevent animal cruelty. Animal cruelty still exists today, but if everyone works together, it could be very different tomorrow. Madeline Whisler‘To whom it may concern: There are many reasons that pollution is so serious. These reasons can easily be fixed. One of the reasons is gas exhaust. One way to fix this is to carpool. Another reason is littering. The easiest and most effective way to fix this is walking around picking up trash. These are some of the many ways to reduce pollution, Thank you, John Michael Priddy‘To Whom It May Concern: Sadly, at night while you're sleeping on a nice warm bed, thousands of people are lying on a hard cold ground of the sidewalk. Even though you may not be one of them, you know what it feels like, lonesome with no place to go. Thankfully, there is a place, Austin Street Centre, This organization houses 425 men, women and children every night, It also provides all necessary needs. Even though this organization helps, more needs to be done. Justéag donating money will help one homeless person buy a warm meal for the day. We are God children, so we should be one helping family. Sincerely, ZL aw Lauren Whisler Ow WH HuallanDear Editor: ‘Acouple years agomy family had to give away a dog. The reason for this is because he had anger management issues because he was abandoned and abused. His owner dropped him off on the street and SPCA took him and his sister in. We decided to adopt him and hope his sister finds a great home as well. Unfortunately, since he was abandoned and abused he bit people to protect himself from being hurt. When an animal severely bites people that is when it gets bad. We had to give him away and it was very heart breaking. This could happen to any family and it does quite frequently. Animal abuse is a serious and dangerous issue that occurs in the United States. Think about all the animals you know or all the animals you own, could you imagine if they were all abused? Around three hundred animals are abused each day, and shelters don’t have enough room to take all of them. If you know an animal that has been abused and is doing fine, be grateful that the animal turned out to be nice. ‘This issue is very bad so do anything to help STOP animal cruelty and abandonment. Thank you, indsay BeachDear Editor, Loneliness affects many elderly people both mentally and physically. It is an ongoing problem in the US, but many people don’t try to stop it. I have had many personal experiences because I have visited Treemont, a retirement home, many times. One day, I played bingo, one of the many activities to do there. One lady was sitting all by herself at atable and many elderly and young people passed her by several times without saying ‘one word. It made me really sad to think this happens everyday. This is just one example of how many elderly people are passed by. This can be helped in many ways but we need the community’s full support. Sincerely, Kondall. 8. Kendall BrockettDear editor, There are many children in Dallas that have parents below the poverty line. These children’s parents can hardly afford to pay the bills let alone preschool. An organization called Head Start is working to help families below the poverty line. Head Start helps by offering the preschool program for free. They are also helping out by offering healthcare and other services to the families. Head Start works on the kids’ educs n and Physical education. | believe that the community can help by volunteering, People in the community can volunteer to help teach, clean up, or many other things. | think the community can help make a difference in a child’s life. Sincerely, Neth Lather Noah Patton‘To Whom It May Concern: Tam a seventh grade student who just finished writing a research paper about the NBA Cares association. I just realized how great of an association this is because almost every professional basketball player is involved in this now. What the NBA Cares is doing goes from donating hundreds of bikes to one team all the way down to just helping kkids plant trees. All of the greatest basketball players in the world are teaming up to help the world to be a better place for many young generations to come. They would be willing to help your community in the offseason, and they already help with ongoing issues in many of the places where their teams are located ‘We can learn fipm this association by helping in our communities by just doing small things. Once we MBE about a tee that has Been knocked down we cori go and plant 3 more like we are supposed to. We don’t have to do anything very big, we only have to do it so that God can see us helping the earth he created. Thank you, yee JoeTo the Editor, Helped by supporters, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children has been the nation’s leading medical center for children with pediatric orthopedic conditions. This hospital helps many children with free service, such as this young girl named Emily. Emily was born with a problem that was noticeable at first and her parents never took her to get her diagnosed. They went to many doctors that couldn't help her, until they came to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. Emily was very young when she was diagnosed with scoliosis, Scoliosis is a condition causing the spine to curve or twist into a “C” or “S” shape. At 15-mouths old, she wore her first halo which its purpose was to make the spine more flexible, Through surgery, the doctors decreased her curve significantly so that she can participate in activities with her peers. Unlike other hospitals, Scottish Rite offers free service to patients if they cannot afford the treatments, To help continue its mission to help children, people across the country donate their time, money, and talents to make this a very special place for families. Helping these children will make their lives happier and better. Sincerely, Allie Burns Nw Bwme-Dear Editor, ‘The organization Unicef, United Nations Fund is a life-changing organization that helps all children and Adults to live happy and healthy lives. This organization works its best to fulfill the needs that need to be met in order for people to live in safe and clean environments. Unicef cares for you and how you live. They offer up services for anybody who wants to contribute a donation to help save children’s lives. All in All this organization has succeeded and grown over the past few years and think how incredible it is to be a part of something that does good for others; unicef will continue on to grow and help the people that need help. Sincerely, Arabyelle Weinmna Wn, Isabelle WeinmannEditor: Tam 12 years old, and I have a concern about the USO. The USO is an organization where volunteers and workers do all they can to make the troops feel comforted and at home while raising money. ‘The USO’s motto is “Widen the Circle.” That means to bring more volunteers into this organization. That’s my concern. They are falling short and need help quick. The volunteers help think of ideas for all the benefits that the USO holds. My Grandfather, William Moore (to his grandchildren known as “G-Dad”) got me interested by taking me to one of these benefits. It was black tie formal and I encountered a variety of people from the Armed Forces. As we sat down to cat I asked my G-Dad, “Do you know all of these people?” He replied, “Well, yes, but only because I found the place I liked to work at best.” I now know why he loves this so much. These people are so respectful and kind, All this organization needs is more volunteers and that’s way I need your help. I don’t think I could spread the word all by myself. Thank you for spending time to read my letter. ‘Thank You,‘To Whom It May Concern: Anyone who has lived in Dallas for a while absolutely loves our city. However no city can be perfect and ours, even though most people would argue with this, is not perfect. On the outside Dallas is an awesome city but on the inside there are some problems, but one we need to focus ona lot Tam talking about family abuse. One statistic is one women is beaten every fifteen seconds in the U.S, A. An organization that has worked tirelessly to prevent this problem is The Family Place. ‘The Family Place although a great organization could not be what it is today without the help of the community. A good way to be involved is by volunteering or donating to an organization that helps with family abuse, One yearly event that The Family Place does is The Partners Card, The Partners Card proceeds go to helping get food for the abused. If you want to make Dallas the best it could possibly be, do something about it. “Taee Ruley— Paige RubeyTo whom it may concern: Many people don’t know that one in three girls and one in five boys are abused in some way at some time during their childhood. But, many also don’t know the severe dangers of child abuse, even when it is happening all around them. A lot of people don’t want to take the time to call up or send an email to an organization that can help this problem, but it’s not very hard! One simple click of a mouse and a few short sentences can get you on your way to drastically decreasing this number every day. A girl was being abused by her father at a very young age, and the neighbors reported the suspicious abuse to an organization called Community Partners of Dallas. They took in her in, under their care, and at first warming up to this idea was very hard for her. But later on, she knew that this was for her own 00d. This could be you: helping out your community and all the kids in need today. Take the time to pitch in, and who knows? You could change a child's life forever! Thank you, Leah BartlettTo Whom It May Concern: Tam seventh grade student at St. Rita Catholic School, 1 recently wrote a research paper on homelessness. I learned that homelessness affects millions of Americans every single day. Just last year, homelessness rose about 3% or 20,000 people. It rose approximately 4% in homeless families. There are many reasons the rate took such a big rise; for instance, the recession was a big part as well as the price of homes. ‘There are many ways we can defeat homelessness, but not enough people are helping the cause. Nobody should ever suffer not having a place to stay and rest. We need to take a stand and defeat homelessness forever, Grant FryeEditor: In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil, but podoconiosis can be 100% prevented by simply wearing shoes. Blake Mycoskie started a shoe company. His motto was for every pair of TOMS sold another would be given to a child in need- one for one. TOMS stands for “tom-orrow” so that every child will have a better “tom-orrow.” If more people could become aware that such a simple act as buying acute and comfortable pair shoes could make a critical difference, then podoconiosis could be completely erased. So many people need shoes because they lack the resources to acquire the protection they need to stay healthy. TOMS organization helps poor people have hope by giving them a pair of shoes which will help them turn their life around. In order to sustain this goal, the giving must continue with more organizations and people joining in this wonderful effort. People don’t understand that they can kill two birds with ‘one stone purchase a cute pair of shoes and help others have hope for tomorrow.Dear Editor: Studies by the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs found that from the years 2005-2006 12.6% of children in Texas have special health care needs and over 6.7% of them did not have good medical insurance. This puts a lot of stress on both the parents and the children affected to keep fighting for cures. Luckily, with the help of the Make a Wish Foundation, children and their families can have some of their burdens and worries lifted. ‘The Make a Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization for children with special health care needs from 2 ¥ to 18 years of age. With the help of generous donators the Make a Wish Foundation can grant a wish to a child in need every 40 minutes. Whether it’s a trip to Disney World, a European cruise, or a trip to meet the idol of their dreams the Make a Wish Foundation does their best to accommodate all of their client’s wishes. The Make a Wish Foundation is a great way to help children in need and provide memories that last a life time. Sincerely, Nolabic Teton Natalie Nolan‘To Whom It May Concern: My uncle has schizophrenia and can never live a perfectly normal life. After multiple seizth&, caused by an inappropriate mix of medications, he thinks like a child. Several years ago, we discovered the Planned Living Assistance Network-PLAN and he began seeing their therapists and psychologists on a regular basis. There, he was able to graduate from one of their first Cognitive Enhancement Therapy courses. Since discovering PLAN, his progress has been remarkable. PLAN has balanced his ation and he no longer speaks of paranoia, PLAN has improved his life and gives him a place where he can share problems with people who are similarly afflicted. He is able to dialogue more in a social setting, has a job, and is working on the purchase of a car. Although to us, his mental illness is devastating, there are others PLAN has helped with far more severe issues. In one instance, a PLAN customer was committed to a psychiatric ward about 5x/year, but since finding PLAN, has not been admitted for over 5 years. Every person has a purpose. My uncle’s purpose, is to help others see the joy in the smallest things in life and to know how blessed we are to be well both physically and mentally. Thank you, Syibion me Ayn Julianne DunnDear Editor, Over 140,000 emergency telephone calls are placed to 911 daily. Americans have relied on this important service for years, What you may not know however is that some 911 calls are made by canines. With the proper technology, trained “service dogs” are abléjplace emergency calls and lend assistance to the disabled owner. It is part of a program called Canine Assistants in which volunteers teach select dogs to support the disabled. The animals are trained to function effectively in dangerous situations, When their schooling is complete Canine Assistants can perform tasks underwater, place emergency phone calls, and respond to a variety{Inedical conditions such as fainting and seizures. As the population of homeless dogs swells, there is an increased opportunity to help grow Canine Assistants and save the lives of the at-risk dogs. While service dogs are highly trained, there is room for more, We urge Americans to take advantage of the opportunity to save homeless animals, and redirect them into potential careers as lifesavers. Lear how Canine Assistants is changing crisis management, Information is available at CanineAssistants.org Respectfully, Elizabeth MuscariTo Whom It May Concern: Sixty-three percent of Americans have pets but only ten to twenty percent of people adopt their pets from animal shelters. You can help protect a als by adopting an animal from an animal shelter instead of a puppy mill. If you have your pets spayed or neutered you are saving the lives of animals, and even reporting animal abuse is an easy way to help save an animal's life. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, is committed to helping animals without violence. By helping out you can save the animals that need a home. Countless people around the world mistreat animals and several organizations big and small are helping protect the world by not using violence. If you take care of animals you can help protect the world. Animals all over the world are being abused daily and if you help together we can change the world one animal at a time. Thank you, Stas, CopeDear Editor, ‘A dog playfully chases another carrying a squeaky ball; inside,a cat curls up for a midday nap. Nobody could have guessed that just three weeks before these animals were homeless, suffering from starvation, illness, and abuse. itis hard to tell that these sweet dogs and cats have faced lives of cruelty and neglect. With the help of Operation Kindness, North Texas’ oldest and largest no kill shelter, animals like these and others have recovered and are ready to find a forever home. Each year, O.K. helps 3,000 dogs and cats find safe and loving homes. Our community can get involved at Operation Kindness in so many ways. In addition to adopting their pets from shelters, people can sign up to volunteer, a great experience for any animal lover. The public can offer financial support or material donations such as bleach, dog leashes, and cat toys. One of the ‘most important actions that we can take that will not only help Operation Kindness, but also reduce the amount of animals homeless, is to spay and neuter our pets. If everyone takes action now, Operation Kindness’ vision of a world where all cats and dogs have loving, responsible forever homes may someday come true. Sincerely, lyre Nicole Herleman