Fishers Resident Running Boston Marathon in Memory of 10-year-old Boy

Submitted by Chelsea Vargas: Spring is here! This means that daffodils are in bloom, children are playing outside, and of course, March Madness is in full swing. It also means that it is time for the BOSTON MARATHON. Every year The Matty Eappen Foundation selects 10 individuals to take on the task of training for the 26.2 mile course and raising a minimum of $3000 for the foundation. This year I am one of those runners! I have prepared physically to run the distance. I am encouraged every day by the emotional support from family and friends. I am turning to you for financial support.

Matty Eappen would now be a ten-year-old boy if he had not been shaken at the age of eight and a half months. His family and friends all wonder what he would be like and miss him every day. In his memory, The Matty Eappen Foundation works to educate people about the dangers of shaking a baby. The Foundation also works with professionals in health care, family services, forensics and justice in helping them to recognize shaken baby syndrome (SBS) and respond effectively to evidence of child abuse. In addition, they provide help to families who have been through the trauma of child abuse.

This year, with generous support, the Foundation has:

Provided the first Matty Eappen Foundation Sibling College Scholarship for the sister of a baby who was shaken to death;
Supported forensic pediatrician Dr. Robert Reece with funding for his professional quarterly review of literature in child abuse and for his development of training material for emergency room clinicians to better recognize SBS;
Donated seed money for the first Scientific Conference on Abusive Head Trauma, (scheduled for July 2007), led by Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery Dr. Mark Dias;
Distributed “Crying Cards” with advice to parents and childcare workers about what to do to calm a crying baby;
Sponsored the family resource book published by the SBS Alliance;
Offered input and support for SBS legislation and spoken at a variety of anti-child abuse functions;
Granted funds to the Children’s Trust Fund shaken baby prevention project and to the western Massachusetts Parents Helping Parents / Parental Stress Line; and
Assisted the National Child Protection Training Center in Winona, Minnesota, with funds for Matty’s Place, the Children’s Advocacy Center.

The Foundation has no paid staff, and your dollars go directly to help prevent shaken baby syndrome and other forms of child abuse. Your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. No donation is too small. Please help us to be proactive in preventing the tragedy and the trauma of child abuse. Your support for me and the foundation is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Chelsea Vargas
HealthQuest Coordinator
Community Health Network
317-621-3353 work
317-915-1123 home

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