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-- "Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" 10 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 17, 2001 we ooAS oper, vo : : BE w > ' : "4 F r,. : vv ' 4 "- iB. 1 RIK DAVIE/PORT PERRY STAR Terri Fallis (left), Ashley Fallis, and Brandy Jones display one of the large cards that was signed by well-wishers this weekend in Blackstock. The effort is being undertaken on behalf of two teens whose parents are fac- ing charges of child abuse. : THE y PERSONAL TOUCH Floral & Gift Shop 271 Mary Street, Port Perry The Port Perry Star Attn.: Linda Clarke [ am writing you this letter to let you know how pleased I am that, as a result of our advertising with the Port Perry Star/Weckend Star papers, our sales have increased for the month of June. [ would also like to take this opportunity to tell you, Linda, how your professionalism and advertising skills have contributed to building a strong working rcla- tionship with my shop. Your dedication to your work and helpfulness in putting together my ads doesn't go unnoticed. [ look forward to continually working with you in my future advertising. Your truly, ticle Vicki Sanderson Owner, The Personal Touch Floral & Gift Shop BLACKSTOCK CARES Fundraising effort is 'therapeutic' for teens, From page 1 "There is a guilt factor here for anyone who may have treated them badly, and a shared guilt that if the allegations are true, it was not caught." Ms. Freedman said that the potential for ill feelings is intensified by the fact that school let out for the summer just as the case made national headlines. "You would have students and staff scattered to the four winds by summer break," she said. "But | feel you would still look at some form of counseling for students and staff when school recon- venes in September." But September is a long way off, and a group of strong-willed young women were not willing to wait. Ashley Fallis, Brandy Jones and Abby McLaughlin have begun the Blackstock Teens Fund to send a message to the two young boys, who are now in secure foster care with the Durham Region Children's Aid Society. "We just wanted to show them that the teens here cared about them, and to let them know that somebody cares," Ashley Fallis said. "We just felt that we had to do something." Ashley Fallis with the help of her mother Terri Fallis, found out that the two boys (who cannot be named as part of a court-ordered media ban) were in sepa- rate foster care, without contact with fam- ily or friends. "We want to raise enough money that they can have some things they might want or need," Ashley said. "If they are there a long time, we want them to know that the community they come from cares about them. Maybe just seeing all the signatures on the cards for them will help." Terri Fallis said that funds raised for the boys will be kept in a trust account at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for anything the boys may need, with the remainder held for them until their 18th birthdays. « Terri Fallis said she feels creating the fund has been therapeutic for the girls. "They were upset and: confused by what they heard and saw in the press," Mrs. Fallis said. "We talked about it, but it was hard to realize something so awful may have happened so close to home," The community has reacted positively to the girls' effort. Huge cards of greeting are filling with signatures and messages of hope for the boys whose lives may never be the same, whatever the out- come of the allegations against their par- ents. "We know it's not your fault," one mes- sage reads. Another, signed by an entire family, tells the boys the message the town wants them to hear: "Blackstock cares." The local high school has provided a sign for the girls to publicize their quest to establish a fund for the boys. The Durham Regional Police parked their community service Volkswagen Beetle at the school on Saturday to draw attention to the fund. A party store in Port Perry, community members Parties Extreme, has offered all the bal- loons the girls can use, and Jeff Reid, of Port Perry's Reid's Independent Grocer, is supplying an endless stream of cold soft drinks to entice people to the little card table in the parking lot, where the girls simply sit and wait for a town to come to them. And coming they are. As the summer sun beat down on the parking lot of the tiny high school last weekend, residents began to pull in. A few came at first, and then it became a steady stream of people. Those who stop by say little, except to congratulate the girls on their efforts and put a few dollars in the donation box. What is happening in Blackstock is a healing of sorts; a chance for the commu- nity to give to two of their members. The action is one designed to help the boys, give an outlet to feelings of helplessness, and at the same time reclaim their town as one that looks after its own. Regan Wilson of Penny's Mini-Mart said that customers have expressed con- cern about the boys. He felt the need to do something. "I didn't know these people," he said. "But my kids did. My kids went to school with them every day. They are part of our community, and we look after our own." The gift the three girls bring to the town goes beyond its borders, and reach- es even to the officers faced with the task of investigating the allegations and preparing a case for the expected trial of the parents. Detective Const. Kate Lang of the Durham Regional Police, a veteran of the sexual assault unit charged with investi- gating abuse allegations leveled against the boys' parents, told media shortly after the arrests: "I cried all the way home after this one. | simply could not stop." When she was told of the Blackstock Teens Fund she agreed the process was a healthy one, not just for the residents of Blackstock, but for her and fellow officers. "This (fund) is giving me the reassur- ance that | often require in this job, that people are basically good and caring," Det. Lang said. Donations to the Blackstock Teens Fund can be made at any branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in Canada, with all proceeds going into trust for the boys who have been taken in by a town. As of Monday morning the girls had raised $1,800 in donations from their campaign in the school parking lot, with another $500 being collected by the CIBC. They have not had a chance to check totals for the deposits made in other cities. For Ashley Fallis, Brandy Jones and Abby McLaughlin the fund is a way to work through something terrible and per- haps become part of the solution to abuse. "If this makes someone else come for- ward when they think there could be abuse," Ashley said, "that would be the best thing (to come) from this."