The Friendship Games

Taylor... That is Carolynn and Catherine’s second cousin. At least I think so. He is the son of their dad’s Aunt Chris, who is his dad’s sister. You figure out the technical name. Anyway, I have known him just about his whole life. He is a teenager now. 13! A teenager! Carolynn is only a year from being one her self. He will be 14 in October. Taylor is a pretty good kid, from what I understand. We do not see him nearly often as we should, but being that he is on the girls dad’s side, we sort of lost touch after the divorce. Divorce sucks for everyone. Too bad really. Anyway, as long as I can remember, Taylor has been a swimmer. I can remember him swimming when he was tiny. He could barely walk, but he wanted to swim. He has been competing with a swim team for about 8 years. Recently he was invited to compete in the Friendship Games in Holland. According to the website, the Youth Friendship Games “will get young people from all over the world together and will contribute to more knowledge and understanding for each other’s different cultures, habits and way of life. By participating in the same sports event where the same rules apply to everybody and by exchanging thoughts during all different evening activities that take place in the Friendship Village, all participants get the opportunity to learn from each other.” It sounds like an experience of a lifetime. The whole thing was begun by the People To People Sports Ambassadors program, which was created by President Eisenhower. It certainly is not something to pass up. Taylor would very much like to go. Unfortunately, his parents cannot afford the $6000 it will cost for transportation and accommodations and such. He has been trying very hard to earn the money. He and his mom set up this website to try to get some donations. You can check out his website here. My friend Jo Anna and I are sending our donations on Monday and I am certainly going to get my boss to make a donation. You can make a donation on his website, through Paypal. Even a few bucks can help him on his way toward Holland and an experience of a lifetime. Also, pass this around to all your friends, family, blogger buddies, and everyone else. The more people who see this, the more help he will get. I hope he makes it! Good luck Taylor! Please forgive me for these old pictures. I didn't have any new ones. Check out his website for some pictures of him swimming.

Taylor's Website
Dollars For Friendship