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HOPE:
Never underestimate the capacity of the human spirit. Meet some
folks who want to soar against all odds.
Published Wednesday, December
25, 2002, in the San Jose Mercury News
Marlene
Alatorre, 17, tries out her new all-court sports wheelchair.
The frame is painted orange, her favorite color. Wish Book donations
also will send Marlene to two national wheelchair-sports competitions
in 2003. |
Young
athlete enjoys new set of wheels
Wish
17 • if
it's possible for a person to wear a full-body grin, that's what Marlene
Alatorre had on at the Timpany Center gym in San Jose.
The 17-year-old senior at Yerba Buena High School had just slid into
her brand-new, custom- built, all-court sports wheelchair -- a snazzy
model with canted wheels that's built for speed and stability. The
best part? The frame is bright orange, her favorite color.
Marlene loves orange so much that she was wearing it, along with that
infectious grin, from head to toe. Orange scrunchie on the ponytail.
Orange sleeveless T-shirt. Orange high-top sneakers with orange laces.
She even carried an orange fake-fur purse and sipped an orange soda
at the holiday party thrown by members of her Wheels on Fire Junior
Wheelchair Sports Team.
Before the noshing and the gift exchange started, the team did a few
warm-up drills and Marlene couldn't wait to take her new chair for
a spin. It's fast and rock steady, and she looks like a pro in it.
Her mom snapped pictures.
The new chair will be a key to Marlene's success when she travels
in 2003 to compete with her team at the National Junior Wheelchair
Basketball Championships in Illinois and, individually in archery,
at the Junior National Wheelchair Championships in Connecticut. Wish
Book read ers are making this all possible.
But the real secret weapon is Marlene herself, who was born with spina
bifida, a spinal cord defect that left her with limited use of her
legs. Determined and focused, she pushes herself hard.
It's that strength that earned her the nickname "Opie,'' which stands
for "orange power.''
Thanks
to Mercury News readers, all of the wishes in the 2002 Holiday
Wish Book will be fulfilled.
Here are the details:
 Wish
9 • The young residents of
Emancipation House, a group home for teens trying to turn
their lives around: clothing, shoes, school supplies,
a "haircut fund,'' computer, printer, a house pool for inexpensive
outings. Nominating agency: the Unity Care Group,
San Jose
Wish 10 • For individuals and families
who use the services of Pathways Hospice Foundation, Mountain
View: groceries, toys, bedding, counseling, respite care
for families. Nominating agency: Pathways Hospice
Foundation, Mountain View
 Wish
11 • More than 1,000 children in protective
custody in Alameda County: toys, shoes, socks, clothing,
bedding, school supplies. Nominating agency:
Adopt an Angel, Fremont
 Wish
12 • Twins Bill and Michael
Henson, Watsonville: music CDs, concert tickets. Donations
also will support the work of Books Aloud, which provides
books on tape to people who have difficulty reading, by paying
for cassette tapes, reusable mailers, recording-studio time.
Nominating agency: Books Aloud, San Jose
 Wish
13 • Seniors who enjoy the services
of Young at Heart, which provides entertainment for seniors
at convalescent homes and retirement centers throughout Santa
Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. Donations will support
Young at Heart performances in 2003. Nominating agency:
Young at Heart Project, Santa Cruz
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 Wish
14 •
Project Build, a construction job training program at Opportunities
Industrialization Center West, East Menlo Park: tool kits
and work boots. Nominating agency: OICW, East
Menlo Park
 Wish
15 • Clients
of the Homeless Garden Project, Santa Cruz: bus passes
to get to the western edge of Santa Cruz, where they earn
minimum wage tending an organic vegetable and flower garden.
Donations also will pay for wheelbarrows, a seeder, hand clippers
and a new tiller. Nominating agency: Homeless
Garden Project, Santa Cruz
 Wish
16 • Ed and Linda Martinez and
their daughters, Andrea and Donna, Gilroy: sofa, bed,
two dressers, clothing. Donations also will purchase shoes,
school uniforms and other necessities for about 130 children
of homeless families who will be housed at the Arturo Ochoa
Migrant Housing Center, Gilroy, this winter. Nominating
agency: St. Joseph's Family Center, Gilroy
Wish
17 • Marlene Alatorre,
a 17-year-old San Jose athlete wishing to compete in two national
events in 2003: Costs /the cost/ to attend the National
Junior Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Illinois and
the Junior National Wheelchair Championships in Connecticut.
Also, a new all-court sports wheelchair. (See
story above) Nominating agency:
Office of Therapeutic Services, city of San Jose.
Special help from Paul "Santa'' Darius, Abba Medical Services,
San Jose.
 Wish
18 • Participants in
the San Mateo Police Activities League sports programs, low-income
kids children ages 5 to 14: soccer uniforms. Donations
also will pay for medals and team photos when the season starts
in April. Nominating agency: San Mateo Police
Activities League, San Mateo |
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