Here's Part 1 of the letter, sent to friends in the Facebook group "Rest in Peace, Robert" on May 5, 2011. Dear friends, The 1st anniversary of Robert's death is just around the corner. I am writing to invite you to two upcoming events. On May 17, 2011, at 7pm, Wootton HS Honors Chamber Orchestra and Chorus will be performing new music composed in Robert's memory. It's an exciting piece in 5 Movements, for strings orchestra, chorus, and male a capella trio. This concert is free and open to the public. Read more about it at http://link.rememberRobert.org/may17. Twenty-one Wootton seniors are competing for the 1st Annual SPIRIT Scholarship. Congratulations to these wonderful hard-working scholar/athlete/artists from the Wootton Class of 2011! See their submissions on YouTube athttp://link.rememberRobert.org/2011. On May 29, 2011, we host the SPIRIT Scholarship Awards Celebration. This is when we announce the winner of the $5000 scholarship. It is a semi-formal at the beautiful Glenview Mansion in Rockville. It's our last event for the foreseeable future, and a rewarding end to a long but fast year of missing Robert. I want you all to come! However we only have 150 tickets. Please buy a ticket by May 17, to help us plan for food, etc. (and prices are lower now through May 17). You can read about it at http://link.rememberRobert.org/may29. We hope you can come May 17 and/or May 29! Mark the dates... ... please read Part 2 for the rest of the message. I describe our past year, and you can leave a message to mark Robert's 1-year memorial at http://link.rememberRobert.org/message. Thanks to everyone for the many ways you helped each other and us over the past year. Sandy Giger, Robert's mom | Part 2 here... ... Nobody was sure what to do, one year ago, but people wanted to "Do something!" We know Robert in so many different ways. As a result, that "something" became doing many things. A thousand people paid him their last respects at his funeral. Peabody Prep dedicated a strings orchestra concert to him. We had a "Team Robert" t-shirt sale and 4X400 meter relay race. We sold blue rubber "Yeaa Boi" bracelets. Grinnell College had a memorial service. We planted trees. Someone composed a song on acoustic guitar and posted it on YouTube. We had a Thanksgiving Eve "Rock for Robert" concert, and a 1-mile Burrito Run. Wootton High School's Track Team created a sportsmanship award in his name. We created a website and a foundation. Robert is remembered often at church. This coming Saturday, May 7, forty-two people signed up as members of "Team Robert" for a 5K "Race to Donate Life" hosted by the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium to raise organ donation awareness. And Robert's classmates post a constant stream of loving messages to Robert's Wall on his personal Facebook page. Please remember the two events May 17 and/or May 29! What if you can't come? Whether you can be with us once, always, or not, we thank you for your friendship with Robert. Thank you for giving Robert a rich life. We'd love to hear from you! Leave a message and we'll post it on Robert's memorial page. Thank you for your support this past year. Peace, Robert Yin's family |
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