Cameron brothers Thomas and Ethan Chamberlain are being recognized by USAFC for their humanitarian roles. Last week, they received identical gift packets postmarked “The White House” containing photos of the president, Air Force One, the presidential pets, as well as souvenir White House stickers, crayons, “no Child Left Behind” pencils and red, white, and blue peanut M&M candies.
Thomas, 14, a Cameron Junior High School eighth grader, and brother Ethan, 11, a Cameron Elementary School fifth grader, voluntarily have channeled more than $3,000 in the past 10 years from pocket change, allowance money, birthday gift currency, and earnings from lawn mowing and chores to the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Thomas began the philanthropic move when barely five. The Jerry Lewis Labor Day MDA Telethon inspired him to contribute. Ethan joined the cause, and established a winter coat drive for economically disadvantaged Cameron children.
Volunteering is a family tradition. Their dad, Gary Chamberlain, is a member of the Cameron Volunteer Fire Department, as were their grandfathers, Tommy Chamberlain and Lloyd Rider.
The Chamberlain brothers caught the attention of the Freedom Corps in late January. Essie Chamberlain, the boys’ mom, said she received a phone call from James Wallace of the Freedom Corps office who had read a story about her sons in the Temple Daily Telegram. It was an article about charitable contributions from today’s youth.
Wallace and Henry Lozano, deputy assistant to the president and director of USA Freedom Corps, then decided to send gift packets to the boys to “thank them for their service and for answering the President’s call to service, as well as recognizing their leadership and dedication to their community,” said Rebecca Neale, USA Freedom Corps spokeswoman in Washington D.C.
At Wallace’s request, Mrs. Chamberlain “called USA Freedom Corps to find out how the children could get involved in volunteering in a greater capacity,” Ms. Neale said.
In a letter written on White House stationary, Lozano applauded the boys’ coat drive and monetary donations as “aspiring acts of volunteerism for anyone.”
“You serve as role models not only to your peers, but also to the rest of the country in fostering a culture of service, citizenship and responsibility,” Lozano wrote. “Thank you for taking the initiative to answer the President’s call.”
Bush introduced USAFC in his 2002 State of the Union Address asking all Americans to serve a cause greater than themselves, Lozano stated in the letter.
“Since then, we have helped Americans answer that call and the American people, including you, are responding.”
The youths may be recipients of a national volunteerism award, which if approved would mean they would greet President Bush as he steps off Air Force 1 in Waco, said Mrs. Chamberlain.
Their parents taught them the virtues of generosity, but the idea to donate their pocket change to the MDA and to collect winter coats for needy children, was solely the boys’ innovation.
Thomas’ first donation to the MDA was $13 in one-cent copper coins he received as a birthday gift. That amount has broadened over the past 10 years. Mrs. Chamberlain remembers when her sons collected a 5-gallon bucket of coins, or $300 in pennies that won the boys’ appellation, “The Penny Boys.”
“It took days to roll all those pennies,” Mrs. Chamberlain said. “It’s basically out of Mom and Dad’s pockets, plus birthday money, and friends and relatives are pitching in now.”
The youths’ benevolence has not gone unnoticed by the MDA, which sent them a plaque commemorating their generosity, she said.
Lozano carefully chose gift items he thought Thomas and Ethan would enjoy, rather than basic souvenir fare one might expect to receive from a government agency, Ms. Neale said.
Thomas and Ethan received their gifts March 31 via U.S. mail. They opened the envelopes in the car when Mrs. Chamberlain picked them up after school.
Thomas likes the photos and planned to take his coveted White House gift packet to school and show classmates. Ethan, clearly the pragmatist of the duo said his favorite gift, “would be the M&Ms.”
While never expecting commendation for them, The Penny Boys were thrilled at receiving gift packets from the White House, and at the prospect of shaking hands with President Bush in the near future.
