Troop Report - 4KQ Variety Special Children's Christmas Party

[Beanie]

post from Redbacks Facebook Like Page:

Lisa Callahan
I wish I could thank all of you personally, but obviously I can't. My 8 year old autistic son is Star Wars obsessed, and yesterday was the first time we've ever seen the characters live. Every single person, in character and in Garrison shirts, was wonderfully patient, polite and very accomodating for photos. You probably don't realise how much of an impact you have on children like mine, but you literally made his day. It was truly a dream come true, and something I could never give him. For you all to stay in costume, through the stifling heat, and still be dancing to the music and posing for endless photos, well you deserve a medal. I am even teary as i write this, because you gave us an experience Erich (and myself) will never forget. As hard as it is to be a parent to a child with difficulties, yesterday made it all worth it. I just cannot thank you all enough, from the bottom of my heart. You are all wonderul. We will be watching your FB site for future appearances from now on. Please pass on my thanks to all those in costume, and feel good knowing how much you meant to my little boy, not to mention the other thousands of children who attended. You are special people.
Warmest regards...Lisa XXX

[J'Girl]

That needs a tissue warning.... Thanks for posting on the forum beanie. I don't think I have ever been more grateful and humbled to be a star wars fan than I am right now. I am absolutely blown away....

[muppet]

Thats great feedback, that even the small part we all play, really can make a difference if only for a short time.

[scope]

Thanks Bids and Cobra for helping me set up the card prop and Todd & Shannon for taking it down. You guys rock !

this is my second 4KQ and I love it there I love all the hugs ( yes tears are easy to find indeed )

Mel and Draco, about your kids there........now.........I loved seeing them playing on the floor, Jethro made me smile so big cause he was smiling at me with his beautiful big smiles he is so cute

love Jas

[Deimos]

Lisa Callahan
I wish I could thank all of you personally, but obviously I can't. My 8 year old autistic son is Star Wars obsessed, and yesterday was the first time we've ever seen the characters live. Every single person, in character and in Garrison shirts, was wonderfully patient, polite and very accomodating for photos. You probably don't realise how much of an impact you have on children like mine, but you literally made his day. It was truly a dream come true, and something I could never give him. For you all to stay in costume, through the stifling heat, and still be dancing to the music and posing for endless photos, well you deserve a medal. I am even teary as i write this, because you gave us an experience Erich (and myself) will never forget. As hard as it is to be a parent to a child with difficulties, yesterday made it all worth it. I just cannot thank you all enough, from the bottom of my heart. You are all wonderul. We will be watching your FB site for future appearances from now on. Please pass on my thanks to all those in costume, and feel good knowing how much you meant to my little boy, not to mention the other thousands of children who attended. You are special people.
Warmest regards...Lisa XXX

This right here is why I do it.

[Draco]

This is one of my “do not miss” troops. So very rewarding. I have one particular image stuck in my head of a little boy in a wheel chair bursting with excitement. I thought he was going to turn himself inside out.

It was a great team effort. Well done everyone involved.

Thanks Scope, from a fellow parent of awesome kids this means a lot.

[Tirilia]

oh wow... Beanie, that is beautiful.. brought a tear to my eye!

Two of my highlights... There was a beautiful little girl there last year, a sweet angel with wavey blonde hair and blue eyes.. with a tumor on her cheek.. she was very shy and sweet, in a tiara and fairy dress.. She was shy until I saw her and said Wow! Ive never met a real princess before! well her little face just lit up..She found me again yesterday and called out 'its my kitty!" and I said Oh! Its my favorite princess! and got a big hug and grin

my other highlight I have to admit, was a moment I was just taking a quick breather down near the stand.. and I stopped and looked around at you all.. dancing, joking, kneeling down to talk to kids, some of you so obviously exhausted and pushing through. I could hear the smiles in your voices, watching the patience and kindness with the kids and their families brought a tear to my eye, I was so proud to be a part of such an amazing group, with so many amazing people.

[ashbash]

Makes me glad that I decided to join the 501st this year! I will definitely add this troop to the list of 'Do Not Miss'.

I missed a full day of RollerCon to attend this. $150 ticket but I ditched a day of awesome derby stuff to attend this... and I'm glad I made the right decision to go to the troop instead.

Love each and every one of you crazy/lovely redbacks!

post from Redbacks Facebook Like Page:

Lisa Callahan
I wish I could thank all of you personally, but obviously I can't. My 8 year old autistic son is Star Wars obsessed, and yesterday was the first time we've ever seen the characters live. Every single person, in character and in Garrison shirts, was wonderfully patient, polite and very accomodating for photos. You probably don't realise how much of an impact you have on children like mine, but you literally made his day. It was truly a dream come true, and something I could never give him. For you all to stay in costume, through the stifling heat, and still be dancing to the music and posing for endless photos, well you deserve a medal. I am even teary as i write this, because you gave us an experience Erich (and myself) will never forget. As hard as it is to be a parent to a child with difficulties, yesterday made it all worth it. I just cannot thank you all enough, from the bottom of my heart. You are all wonderul. We will be watching your FB site for future appearances from now on. Please pass on my thanks to all those in costume, and feel good knowing how much you meant to my little boy, not to mention the other thousands of children who attended. You are special people.
Warmest regards...Lisa XXX

[Oevil1]

A team of wild dewbacks will not keep me away from this troop next year. Once again...I'm proud to be a redback and to call all of you friends.

[hopfot]

Lisa Callahan
I wish I could thank all of you personally, but obviously I can't. My 8 year old autistic son is Star Wars obsessed, and yesterday was the first time we've ever seen the characters live. Every single person, in character and in Garrison shirts, was wonderfully patient, polite and very accomodating for photos. You probably don't realise how much of an impact you have on children like mine, but you literally made his day. It was truly a dream come true, and something I could never give him. For you all to stay in costume, through the stifling heat, and still be dancing to the music and posing for endless photos, well you deserve a medal. I am even teary as i write this, because you gave us an experience Erich (and myself) will never forget. As hard as it is to be a parent to a child with difficulties, yesterday made it all worth it. I just cannot thank you all enough, from the bottom of my heart. You are all wonderul. We will be watching your FB site for future appearances from now on. Please pass on my thanks to all those in costume, and feel good knowing how much you meant to my little boy, not to mention the other thousands of children who attended. You are special people.
Warmest regards...Lisa XXX

I cannot describe how that makes me feel. I'm not sure I have ever felt this good about something.
*sniff*
Thanks for posting that mate.

[Staffylove]

Lisa Callahan
I wish I could thank all of you personally, but obviously I can't. My 8 year old autistic son is Star Wars obsessed, and yesterday was the first time we've ever seen the characters live. Every single person, in character and in Garrison shirts, was wonderfully patient, polite and very accomodating for photos. You probably don't realise how much of an impact you have on children like mine, but you literally made his day. It was truly a dream come true, and something I could never give him. For you all to stay in costume, through the stifling heat, and still be dancing to the music and posing for endless photos, well you deserve a medal. I am even teary as i write this, because you gave us an experience Erich (and myself) will never forget. As hard as it is to be a parent to a child with difficulties, yesterday made it all worth it. I just cannot thank you all enough, from the bottom of my heart. You are all wonderul. We will be watching your FB site for future appearances from now on. Please pass on my thanks to all those in costume, and feel good knowing how much you meant to my little boy, not to mention the other thousands of children who attended. You are special people.
Warmest regards...Lisa XXX

I cannot describe how that makes me feel. I'm not sure I have ever felt this good about something.
*sniff*
Thanks for posting that mate.

So it seems I *can* thank you all of you personally

I am the mum who wrote the above message Beanie posted, and I meant every word of it. I cannot thank you enough for your dedication and professionalism (and patience). It was only towards the end of the day that I noticed all the 501st shirts around the characters, and thought I'd google it when I got home. I was overwhelmed to read you all volunteer your time...you do this for the love of children, not for money. You are an incredible group of people, and I left that message in the hope that you see how appreciated you really are...not just by the children, but by us parents too. You gave my son an experience money can't buy. You made his make-believe world of Star Wars magically come to life. He turned 8 last week, and I bought him a boxed set of Star Wars novels (for kids). They have pride of place beside his pillow on his bed...and to see these characters in the flesh was something we never thought we'd see. I love you all for making him so happy yesterday, and for bringing a smile to thousands of other little faces. THANK YOU.

[Moxxxie]

Thank you so much for tracking us down, Lisa! Your message brings a very personal touch to the event, and means a lot to all of us - so thank you!

We all had an unbelievable time at the party, and each year we keep getting more and more troopers willing to join in the fun! Who knew playing dress-ups could be so much fun, and so rewarding at the same time! The event organiser is always happy for us to attend, so as long as the kids keep smiling, we'll keep turning up!

I'm so glad your son enjoyed his day - that's what it's all about!

[Bullant]

Thanks for tracking us down, and welcome Even though I couldn't make this event (the spare time (lol) that I have when I'm not trooping or caring for my own kids is spent as a Joey Scout leader and we had our group camp this weekend), I'm happy to admit that I teared up reading your post and I can't wait to troop this event next year.

[BIDS]

Thanks very much for making the effort to not only track us down, but also to join the forum to say thanks.

Obviously the reason we dress as Star Wars characters stems from a love of the Star Wars Galaxy, but the reason most of us take the step is to try & give a little back to our community. We're lucky enough to be able to visit sick kids in hospital as part of our work with the Starlight Foundation and it's truly wonderful to see a smile on a sick childs face, and to think you've made them forget about their situation, if only for a little while.

I've only been a member of the Legion since April, but it's already been a fantastic & absolutely life changing experience. This was my first chance to attend the 4KQ event & I'll definitely attend from now on.

Again thank you for your wonderful feedback.

[hopfot]

And there are the tears again.

You are more than welcome Lisa, the hugs and smiles are thanks enough. You have truly touched this troopers heart.