Teen donates to cancer patients, Celina Record

Celina teen spearheads donation effort for cancer patients Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Jun 17, 2016 0 Jacob Woodrum didn’t have to look far for inspiration while choosing a project to complete in an effort to earn his Eagle Scout rank. Years before the Celina Junior High School student was born, his older sister Alicyn Lawrence fought and won a fierce battle against cancer. Jacob, 13, recalled hearing stories about the long, boredom-filled days she spent at the hospital while receiving treatment for the disease, which included five rounds of chemotherapy. “No one brought her toys or anything,” he said. Hoping to help other sick children avoid a similar experience, in May the teen began collecting stuffed animals, coloring books, puzzles and other fun items that will be given to patients at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. The goods were donated by congregants at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Prosper, where Jacob’s parents and siblings are members, after he set collection boxes in the building’s foyer. Earlier this week, about 100 volunteers joined Jacob and his family at the church to create care packages with the items, which will be distributed to the patients later this month. “I like to see kids happy when they’re going through hard times,” Jacob said. Alicyn, now 24 and residing in McKinney, said, “It means a lot to me that he listened to my stories. … He decided that he’d want to help another little kid have a little better experience than I did.” When you’re a child, she said, “You’re supposed to be having fun and dreaming of what you’re going to become and playing, but instead you’re stuck in a hospital, not sure of what’s going on, confused and bored. Oftentimes, there isn’t a lot of dreaming or hope in those places.” Jacob’s care packages will provide young cancer patients “a chance to have a break from their crazy life and have a chance to be a little bit more normal,” she said. Lauren Cody, child life assistant at Children’s Health, said the hospital is “very excited Jacob has chosen us as beneficiaries of his Eagle Scout project. “His donation will help brighten some of our sweet patients’ long chemo infusion days and help fight boredom that often comes with even longer inpatient stays.” As part of the requirements to earn the Eagle Scout rank, Jacob is tasked with organizing and overseeing the donation project from start to finish. So far, he has spent about 50 hours working on it. The process has been “a little stressful” at times, he said. “It’s just a lot of work … delegating (tasks) to people and reminding them to do stuff and asking them to do things. It’s just really hard.” Even after the toys reach their recipients, Jacob’s work will continue. He must finish the required paperwork and go before a review board that will decide whether he has demonstrated enough leadership to become an Eagle Scout. Earning the rank is something of a tradition in the Woodrum family. Both of Jacob’s older brothers, Joshua and Tanner Woodrum, earned the rank, as did their father, Lynn Woodrum, when he was a Scout during the 1980s. “All of the boys had a different purpose” with their projects, explained Jacob’s mother, Sandy Woodrum. In 2012, using GPS technology, Joshua mapped the graves at a pair of Celina cemeteries. Three years later, Tanner repainted miles of fencing at Old Celina Park. Jacob, she said, “really wanted to do something to help people.” Follow the Celina Record on Twitter @celinarecord.