West Chicago girl launches fundraiser for African clinic
;http://saint-barnabas.net/#147;They told me how cool it is that someone like me could just start it up, and they said, #145;Thank you, you#146;re helping a lot of people,#146;#148; she said. #147;It makes me feel good because I#146;m actually making a difference.#148;She and her organizational partner, her mother, Anne Kellstedt Ramirez, recently set the date for the second annual Kids for the Clinic fundraiser to take place from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12. #147;We are very thankful for Grace, that#146;s for sure,#148; Gunter said. ">Grace Ramirez#146;s ear really ached. An infection was brewing, and the wait at the doctor#146;s office seemed like an eternity to the West Chicago 11-year-old, followed by another wait at the pharmacy while her prescription was filled. #147;It hurt so bad, and I asked what would happen to a person in Sudan,#148; she said. #147;And they said their ear drum would probably rupture.#148; What 11-year-old thinks of the lack of medical care in a poor African country far, far away? An 11-year-old who pays attention in church. Ramirez and her family attend St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, where the congregation has committed to financially supporting a medical clinic in Renk in South Sudan, where they pay the salary of a midwife and fund the purchase of medicine for locals. And so began Ramirez#146; idea for a children#146;s musical fundraiser, Kids for the Clinic #8212; an idea she hoped would ensure other children experiencing ear infections and other health concerns could get the proper medical care. The last February event raised more than $2,000 that went directly to purchasing medicine for the clinic. Grace and three friends #8212; Mae Elizabeth Gimre, R.J. Simmons and Sarah Gimre #8212; put on an hourlong cello performance. The event was accompanied by a raffle, with one prize being a pair of shoes autographed by Luol Deng, a Chicago Bulls player from South Sudan. Children also collected change and brought it in. #147;It was a magnificent success,#148; said St. Barnabas#146; Rector Matt Gunter. #147;It was an inspiration to the congregation to have one of our younger members respond to the need of others across the world.#148;Gunter lauds Grace#146;s effort as wonderful on several layers. #147;What#146;s exciting about it is that Grace is an example, on one hand, of the imagination and the character of the church#146;s members who are shaped by living within the community of the church,#148; he said.#147;Out of that, she herself comes up with this idea of how she wants to make a contribution and, in turn, inspires the very community that, in turn, shaped her by her own witness.#148;Following the event, Grace was treated to a meeting with Bishop Joseph Garang Atem, who was visiting the Chicago area from the Renk Episcopal church, St. Barnaba. He talked soccer with her #8212
;http://saint-barnabas.net/[URL]For details, visit the [/URL]Kids for the Clinic Facebook page;http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kids-for-the-Clinic/110160362395151 , email kidsfortheclinic@gmail.com or visit [URL]saint-barnabas.net.