Brightspirit Relief Fund
April 21, 2008 - Russellville, AR
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
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
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
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.