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Brightspirit Relief Fund

April 21, 2008 - Russellville, AR

Emmy Cherry
Emmy Cherry

Donations to the Brightspirit Relief Fund
can be made via PayPal.
Emmy Cherry, age 10, lost her life in the February 5th tornado that ravaged a 120 mile stretch of Central Arkansas. But she will live on as a cat, a character named “Brightspirit” in her favorite book series “Warriors” by Erin Hunter. Erin Hunter is the pen name of the collaborative team of Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry.

Erin Hunter first learned of her young fan’s death when local bookstore owners Stephen and Lynn Wiman contacted Harper Collins Publisher to ask to purchase a book, signed by the author, to donate to the Atkins Middle School in Emmy’s honor. What has stirred up out of that lone request is amazing.

Warrior Fans from all over the world, in a forum on wandsandworlds.com, made tribute to Emmy.    In those tributes, fellow fans gave her the honorary Warrior name “Brightspirit”.   Fans also named her parents (who also lost their lives in the storm). Dana was given the name "Shiningheart" and Jimmy the name "Braveheart".   The authors saw the tribute, liked the names and decided to use them as the names in their upcoming book, Long Shadows.

The authors sent a signed set of their books to the Atkins Middle School. They have donated a signed set of books for auction to benefit other victims of the tornado. It is not just another signed Erin Hunter book….but an extremely rare set…the literary team will for the first time sign their works as Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry and Victoria Holmes, rather than their pen name “Erin Hunter”, making this set the first ever offered for sale. All money from the sale of the rare set will go to the Brightspirit Relief Fund, a non-profit tax deductible fund set up by Emmy’s Grandmothers, Kay Cherry and Elaine Kizer, in honor of Emmy and her favorite author.

Erin Hunter has also helped secure signed books and other items from notable authors to be auctioned for the fund. Erin Hunter (Victoria Holmes) will be here in October at the end of her fall tour, to sign books at Vintage Books. She will speak at an assembly at Atkins School. She will participate in Warriors Day, an event designed to bring attention to the Brightspirit Relief Fund, and provide a day of fun and interactive events for Warriors fans of all ages. To find out more, call Vintage Books at 479-880-2152.

More information about the upcoming Warriors Day and other events will be posted as the details come together.

April 22, 2008 - Russellville, AR

The response from Erin Hunter has been so incredible that we thought you would enjoy reading a word from the authors about getting involved:

Vicky Holmes

Vicky Holmes
Vicky Holmes

I’ve done several press and TV interviews recently about creating a permanent memorial to Emmy Grace Cherry, and in each one I’ve been asked, Why would you do something like this? My answer is always the same: Why would I not? Emmy was a beautiful, generous, loving little girl who should not be snuffed out from our lives like a candle. Her light is the brightest of lights, and it deserves to shine on for a long, long time. It is a great and humbling honour to be allowed to share the grief of her family and her community, and to be able to help raise funds for people that Emmy would have wanted to help herself.

 

Kate Cary

Kate Cary
Kate Cary

The story of Emmy has touched me. I hold my son tighter now, and treasure more deeply the time I spend with him. It is a joy to be able to help Emmy’s family and community. Of all the words and pictures they have shared with us, my favourite is a photo of Emmy’s friend, Harley, smiling as she holds Emmy’s cat, Shasta, who survived the tragedy. It tells me that life goes on and happiness returns so long as we hold the memories of those we love in our hearts.

 

 

Cherith Baldry

Cherith Baldry
Cherith Baldry

When I heard about the death of Emmy and her parents in the tornado, I was shocked and saddened - all the more so as I learnt more about Emmy and what a special person she was. I feel deeply honoured to be writing the book in which Brightspirit will appear; I hope and pray that Vicky and I can do her justice, and that our words will be a comfort to those who are mourning for her and her parents. 

I'm really thankful for the work that Lynn and others have done to make something positive come out of this tragic event, and I was so glad to learn that the Erin Hunter team could help by contributing signed copies and other items to the fund for the tornado survivors. It seems even better to me if we could widen the scope of this fund to include causes that Emmy herself would have liked to support. It is a wonderful memorial to her and a way to ensure that her spirit lives on.

My thoughts and prayers are with Emmy, her family and friends.
 
 
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