It’s T-shirt Time! Gear up now for The Star’s Fundraiser Trifecta.

March 12, 2011 by admin 

 

THE ORDER WAS PLACED ON SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2011.

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Yes, that’s right, PBC.  This is the one gear sale a year that strives to make you look good and do good at the same time.  Remember, in fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day, you’re out. We’ve got the “in” tees you want and three charities we’d like to help. Got it? Great!

 

So, check out the four beyond-cool PBC tees (and a hat) here, click, and buy.  It’s that easy.  Soon, you’ll have a t-shirt on the way with proceeds from the sale going to the following deserving groups:

 

1. The Open Scullers through the Potomac River Sports Foundation. Why?  Because we live vicariously through our Olympic hopefuls.  (Oh, don’t forget to mark your calendars and RSVP for their Rising Stars Dinner on March 26th!)

 

2. Washington-Lee High School Crew Boosters.

 Why?  Because we love our W-L kids, even if it seems like we’re tough on them (and um, on their boats) sometimes.

 

3. The Petit Family Foundation. Why?  Because we’re inspired by the short life of Hayley Petit. The daughter of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and William A. Petit, Jr., M.D., Hayley was a June 2007 graduate of Miss Porter’s School and headed to Dartmouth College, her father’s Alma Mater and where she planned to row.  As many of us learned last year when the trial made national news, the lives of Hayley, her mother and her younger sister were brutally taken during a home invasion on July 23, 2007.

Hayley was well known, admired, and loved for the integrity she brought to everything she did, and for the student, athlete, leader, and friend she was.  At school, Hayley was an  Honor Roll student, a member of Cum Laude, a journalism prize-winner, and winner of the school’s award for “exceptional community service.”  She was also a three-season varsity athlete in cross country, basketball, and crew.  Hayley was made captain of her crew and basketball team by her teammates, and elected to a senior leadership position as head of the school’s athletic association. And Hayley’s leadership extended beyond school to the larger community; she raised over $50,000 to support research for Multiple Sclerosis, the disease that afflicted her mother.

 

Despite her many gifts, Hayley called no attention to herself, and instead led by example and encouraged those around her to do the same. She was honored and respected by her teachers and her coaches, to whom she gave her best; and by her class and schoolmates, both older and younger, who saw Hayley as someone they always wanted to be around, as well as someone they wanted to be like. The impact Hayley made in the short time she had on this earth was truly exceptional.

Hayley was a powerhouse who gave so much energy to everything she did that her teammates used to call the final sprint at the end of their race “giving it the Hayley 10.”  And as it turned out, Hayley indeed fought the good fight up until the end of her life.  On July 23, 2007, with the house already ablaze, and despite enduring hours of torture to herself, her mother and sister, Hayley managed to loosen the ties that bound her to her bed and crawl into the hallway of their home.  Investigators say she most likely was headed to save her 11 year old sister, Michaela.  Hayley and Michaela succumbed to smoke inhalation before rescuers could get to them.

 

We didn’t know Hayley, but in many ways, we feel like we did.  We easily could have imagined her walking through the doors of PBC after graduating from Dartmouth, wanting to row while doing post-grad work or whatever else brings high achievers like Hayley to DC.  And when we look at our own children, especially our daughters – playing sports, working hard in school, and trying to become good citizens of this world – we think of her often and of the amazing young woman she was at only 17, and of the incredible woman we are certain she would have been.

 

The Petit Family Foundatiaon honors the memories of JENNIFER HAWKE-PETIT, HAYLEY ELIZABETH PETIT and MICHAELA ROSE PETIT by continuing the kindness, idealism and activism that defined their lives. The Foundation’s funds are given to foster the education of young people, especially women, in the sciences; to improve the lives of those affected by chronic illnesses; and to support efforts to protect and help those affected by violence.

 

http://www.potomacstar.com/2011/03/12/gear-up-now-for-the-potomac-stars-fundraiser-trifecta/