CARIBOU, Maine — On May 30, organizers with the Marissa E. Lloyd Sunshine Fund made their annual trip to Aroostook County to visit six different second-grade classes in The County, including Caswell, Connor, Limestone, Woodland, Washburn and Hilltop schools.
The four groups of second-graders were presented with a book donation made by the fund, in which all second-graders in attendance were given an autographed book by Audrey Penn, who is most famous for writing the book “The Kissing Hand.” Her prolific number of children’s books are each designed with a life lesson, teaching about things like bullying, love and loss, to name just a few. This made her books perfect for a group like the Marissa E. Lloyd Sunshine Fund, as the fund is named after a young Hilltop second-grader who passed away in a tragic car accident on Feb. 15, 2008.
“Although I’ve been residing in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. the past few years, I remain on the board and am actively involved with the project. This year, board members, family and friends assisted with the project,” said Marissa’s mother Kristin Lloyd. “We have been fortunate to be able to collaborate with Audrey Penn the author of “The Kissing Hand” series and have her full support of the project working directly with her to order books as well as her providing her signature in each book.”
This marks the seventh year the Marissa E. Lloyd Sunshine Fund has given out books from Penn’s “Kissing Hand” series. According to Marissa’s mother, “The Kissing Hand” was one of Marissa’s favorite books.
“The book dealt with separation and anxiety, something many children face every day,” said Lloyd. “Mrs. Greenier our board member and school teacher in Woodland does the presentation and explains to the children about the books and different life lessons. ‘The Big Bad Bully’ is one of the most popular books and gives her the opportunity to discuss bullying and instruct them to use their voice, if being bullied or see someone else being bullied, hence our motto ‘A voice is a voice no matter how small.’”
One of the most popular books often chosen by the students deals with bullying, which has always been an issue for children, but lately has been brought to the forefront of media, as students are being harassed and bullied at an alarming rate.
“The fund was started because after Marissa’s untimely passing I wanted to help find a way to raise awareness and to help children realize that if something isn’t right that they don’t have to be silent, that they have a voice and although it may be small they still have the given right to use it,” said Lloyd. “Over the last seven years we have seen more and more children choose the ‘Chester the Raccoon’ and ‘The Big Bad Bully’ book. This tells me that there is probably more bullying going on than what teachers, parents, and caregivers are aware of.”
Marissa’s mother, family members and the rest of the Sunshine Fund volunteers have established a goal of curbing this bullying problem, while helping those kids who feel voiceless understand they are not alone when it comes to these type of instances.
“Studies show that children who are bullies can turn into adult bullies who continue to bully in the workplace and through adulthood. Children who are bullied can have everlasting effects from being bullied, and/or also become a bully because they cannot speak up for themselves when they are being bullied,” said Lloyd. “They in turn begin to bully others. It’s a vicious cycle that needs to be broken. It is only through awareness that we can help one another, and help children who feel that they are voiceless realize that they have voice and should not be afraid to use it.”
In addition to donating books, the fund also added the Sunshine Citizenship Award the last few years. The schools decide if they will participate or not. It is a special award because the students themselves vote on their classmate they feel is most deserving and base on the criteria the fund sets forth. The winners are announced the day the fund presents the books.
“The winners received a certificate and T-shirt with the fund’s logo. Marissa was an outstanding citizen always going above and beyond to help her classmates without even being asked. She was a trusted friend and good student,” said Nikki. “Marissa would be 14 years old and a freshman in high school this fall and I still hear from her friends from second-grade how good of a friend she was. The winners of the award should feel very proud knowing that they were chosen by their own classmates for being an outstanding citizen.”
This year’s winners of the Sunshine Citizenship Award were Riley Burlock from Woodland, Joey Stubbs from Connor, Cianna Butler from Limestone and Lauren Stewart, Mason St. Peter, Claire Ouellette and Alex Belanger, all from Hilltop School in Caribou. By the end of the day the Marissa E. Lloyd Sunshine Fund handed out over 140 books, along with rainbow-colored wristbands, which were given to all second-graders in attendance.
