Friends honored for starting Volleyball Camp for kids<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0 \u00a0Camp Helps children with disabilities, special needs\u00a0The St. Louis-based Lutheran Elementary School Association has selected Tori Stuart, an eighth-grader at Immanuel Lutheran School in St. Charles, as its 2015 Lutheran Student Ambassador.<\/h5>\n
The award, which includes a $500 scholarship\u00a0underwritten by the\u00a0Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF),\u00a0recognizes Lutheran elementary school students who demonstrate courage, compassion, leadership, academic achievement and a commitment to their community.<\/p>\n
“Tori is a very special child,” said Susan Schmieding, one of Tori’s teachers at Immanuel.\u00a0“She sees beyond herself.”<\/p>\n
Tori, 14, helped found the Victory Volleyball Camp, a summer\u00a0mini-camp for children with disabilities and special needs. She and\u00a0a friend, Sam Eaker, who attends Atonement Lutheran School\u00a0in north St. Louis County, came up with the idea two years ago to help Sam’s\u00a0sister Olivia,\u00a0a fourth-grader who has\u00a0Spina Bifida.<\/p>\n
“We both play volleyball and we felt bad that she couldn’t go with us to volleyball camp. You could see the disappointment in her face because she was old enough to go, but couldn’t,” said Stuart, who lives in Florissant with her family. “So we were like, “Why don’t we just create our own camp?”<\/p>\n
“When Tori first started planning the camp, she had just finished sixth-grade,” said Mrs. Schmieding. “Many adults doubted she would pull it off, due to her age.”<\/p>\n
Tori and Sam went to work; they planned drills, attended meetings and\u00a0worked closely with\u00a0their parents and other adults, including the director of\u00a0TASK – Team Activities for Special Kids, a St. Louis-based non-profit that provides athletic and social opportunities to kids with special needs. In July, 2014, Victory Volleyball Camp welcomed its first set of campers – 15 athletes, including Sam’s little sister – for a two-day session at Lutheran High School North in Florissant.<\/p>\n
“I propped open the doors and a little kid came in and said, “Hi” and gave me a hug and I was like, ‘Ok, this is going to be ok!” said Tori.<\/p>\n
Tori hopes to serve even more\u00a0young athletes\u00a0this summer when the camp moves to TASK’s home facility in Fenton. The program, which will run from July 22-23,\u00a0is open to children and young adults ages\u00a06 to 24.<\/p>\n
Tori, who attends Chapel of the Cross Lutheran Church in north St. Louis County, says\u00a0the camp has helped her grow\u00a0as a teacher and leader. “It’s not about what you’re feeling at the time, you have to make sure they’re ok,” said Tori. “You have to step into their shoes.”<\/p>\n
Tori will receive her award Saturday, April 18, at LESA\u2019s 11th annual \u201cA Night for Kids\u201d dinner-auction at the Marriott St. Louis West , 660 Maryville Centre Dr., in Chesterfield. The evening, co-hosted by KMOX’s Mark Reardon, will also include a tribute to Dr. Eugene Lehr, a founding LESA Board Member and recipient of LESA’s 2015 Heritage Award.\u00a0Proceeds benefit the more than 8,200 children who attend\u00a0Lutheran schools in the St. Louis area.<\/p>\n
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Friends Tori Stuart and Sam Eaker help found the Victory Volleyball Camp,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Friends Tori Stuart and Sam Eaker help found the Victory Volleyball Camp, \u00a0 \u00a0Camp Helps children with disabilities, special needs\u00a0The St. Louis-based Lutheran Elementary School Association has selected Tori Stuart, an eighth-grader at Immanuel Lutheran School in St. Charles, as its 2015 Lutheran Student Ambassador. The award, which includes a $500 scholarship\u00a0underwritten by the\u00a0Lutheran Church […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-flovalley-sports","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
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