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Couple have grads pay it forward |
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$10 tributes are in son's memory
Associated Press
On the last day of high school, Mike and Jill Selby of rural Delmar gave each of the 155 graduates $10 and a letter containing a challenge. They asked the graduates to spend the gift in a way that would reflect the values of their son, Cory, who would have graduated with the class. Cory Selby died during the summer before his sophomore year of a rare heart ailment. The Selbys provided their street and e-mail addresses and asked the students to let them know how they spent the money. They said the response has been overwhelming. "Some of them gave it a lot, a lot of thought," Mike said. Adam Jacobs, who was one of Cory's best friends, wrote that one of his last memories of Cory was watching with him as the St. Louis Cardinals played the Chicago Cubs on the day the 15-year-old died at a church youth convention in New Orleans. "I plan to take a friend to a minor league baseball game and share Cory's passion for the game with someone else," Jacobs wrote. Some of the teenagers helped homeless people. One girl, on a church trip to Chicago, used her $10 to buy a homeless man a cold drink, a ticket for the L transit system and a bag of personal items. Another one, on a band trip to New York City, took a homeless man to lunch at McDonald's, sharing Cory's story with him. Zach Betz, driving to the University of Montana, pulled over when he saw a hitchhiker. Betz gave the man the $10 and told him to treat himself at a nearby Dairy Queen. The man said he had not eaten for days. Several kids donated the $10 to charities, including churches, the Red Cross, an agency that helps disadvantaged youths and a pregnancy center for unwed mothers. One student athlete donated to a benefit for an athlete at a neighboring school who has cancer. One young man's money multiplied with donations from relatives and friends. He and his younger brother bought a tree and drove two hours to plant it in the yard of an Illinois couple whom they had never met but knew of through acquaintances. The man was terminally ill with cancer when a tornado struck the couple's home, destroying several trees. Two of Cory's friends bought a landscaping rock imprinted with his picture, his name and Class of 2004. The Selbys put it under a tree on their farm as a memorial. Jill said she
knows they won't get letters from all 155 students. She said there's
no deadline and kids who have not yet spent the $10 should feel
no pressure, just follow their classmates' examples. |
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