There are times in our lives when we have to stop everything to consider, truly consider how very blessed we are.  This past Saturday, the Village of Midlothian came together to help one of its own.  Emily Jones Casey was born in Midlothian and graduated from Midlothian High School in 2002.  In 2007, she fell victim to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  She did not have health insurance at the time and was left facing over 160 thousand dollars in medical bills.

Marie O’Kleasky, photography teacher at Midlothian High wished to raise funds for Emily through a community event.  As Emily had been Captain of the Midlothian Cross Country team, a 5K seemed to be a natural fit.  Marie brought the idea to her students at the beginning of the school year.  They readily wanted to take part.  As the year progressed, so did the activities planned by the students.  Saturday’s events included a 5K run, art show, children’s carnival, pony rides, face paintings, tie-dye shirt production, bake sales, concessions, bone marrow screenings and a Band fest.

Marie and the students were joined by many other faculty, staff and administration personnel from Midlothian High.  They were also joined by many members of the Sycamore Woman’s Club, Winfree Baptist Church and Emily’s neighbors and friends.  The festivities were from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but many volunteers worked over twelve hours providing set-up and clean-up duties.

Contributions from neighbors, friends, co-workers and hundreds of others exceeded all expectation and made the day a tremendous success.

Too few times we hear of good things from the younger generation.  We should all be proud of the selfless acts of the students from Midlothian High School and the generosity of the people who live in and around the Village of Midlothian.

We thank God for the kindness you have shown our family and ask for His blessings on each of you.

Very truly yours,
Brenda and Peppy Jones