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More than 100 Jester books, dolls donated in
Simmons’ memory
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 6:14 PM PDT
SAN PEDRO — In a very moving ceremony at Taper
Avenue Elementary School in San Pedro on April 18, Lisa Simmons
accepted the donation of 125 copies of “The Jester Has Lost His
Jingle” and 125 Jester & Pharley dolls donated to the Los
Angeles Police Department in memory of her husband, Officer Randy
Simmons. Simmons became the first SWAT officer killed in the line of
duty in February.
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| LAPD SWAT Officer
Randy Simmons of Rancho Palos Verdes helped distribute Jester
books and dolls to children in distress in
1997. |
Simmons’ partner, James Hart, joined Lisa in
accepting the gift from students at Taper Elementary, The Whitney
Young Children’s Foundation and The Jester & Pharley Phund, both
Palos Verdes-based charities.
Also joining in the ceremony
was Marlene Young of Palos Verdes Estates, who established the
Whitney Young Children’s Foundation after her 19-year-old daughter
was killed by a drunk driver in San Diego in November
2006.
Altogether, Taper Avenue students read 191,801 pages in
a Jester & Pharley Read-A-Thon to enable them to donate Jester
books and dolls in Simmons’ memory. The Reading Makes A Difference
program in which they participated was supported by donations from
San Pedro residents Richard and Pat Hildebrandt; Chris and Linda
Nanji, and Virginia Cicoria and her late husband, Michael Cicoria,
of Palos Verdes Peninsula.
“Thank you for your dedication,”
Lisa told the gathering of 650 kindergartners through fifth-graders.
“My husband would be very proud of you. And continue reading to make
the very most of your life.”
Hart reminded the students to
make good choices in life: “Making the right choice will affect your
life and everyone around you.” Young reiterated how important the
right choice is. “The young man who killed my daughter was ruined,
and now we will never see our daughter again. It is vital to make
the right choice.”
“We met Officer Simmons 11 years ago when
giving Jester books and dolls to SWAT teams to help children,” said
The Phund’s Barbara Saltzman. “He was an inspiration in helping us
develop our literacy and outreach programs in schools, and in his
memory we look forward to working with individuals and organizations
to provide Jester books and dolls to children in crisis.”
Taper Avenue Principal Doreen Steinbach was pleased
that students made the first donation of Jester books and dolls in
Simmons’ memory. “He used to jog by our school with his dog
regularly, and all the children loved him,” she said.
The
Jester & Pharley Phund has its origin in the New York Times
best-seller “The Jester Has Lost His Jingle,” written and
illustrated by Chadwick graduate David Saltzman as his senior
project at Yale before his death from cancer in 1990. Students have
read more than 20 million pages to benefit other children since the
beginning of The Phund’s literacy and outreach programs in 2001.
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