mariahs challenge

Lil' Dribblers is for kids up to 7 years of age, although they are willing to fudge a little bit on the age restrictions, and the program is more of an open-gym than a basketball league. The kids play at their own pace, whatever the pace may be, and learn as much about teamwork and friendship as they do about basketball fundamentals.

It's not just the scholarship money that has been awarded (we'll get to that in a second), but the positivity that comes with leading a chemical-free lifestyle. There's the money that is not spent on DUI fines and attorneys. The dividends that have been accrued due to the degrees earned with Mariah's Challenge scholarship money must be staggering. Because Leo just released the actual number of scholarship dollars that have been given out over the past 16 years and it is mind blowing.

Halloween for many families is a time for fun, especially if you're a parent. Watching your kid's eyes light up when they find the perfect costume. Gathering around the table with carving knives and the biggest spoons in the silverware drawer to carve the pumpkin. Trick or treating. The kind of things that make lifetime memories for parents. But for the McCarthy Family of Butte, Halloween will always bring back memories of the phone call that they got late one night, on October 28, 2007. The phone call that parents pray that they never receive.

Tonight, twenty of Mariah’s Messengers will receive a $1,000 scholarship for secondary education, after accepting, and living, Mariah’s Challenge.

It is always incredibly shocking to me how something so truly wonderful can come from such a tragedy. On October 28th, 2007, Mariah Daye McCarthy was killed by an underage drunk driver while walking home with friends. To think that day is 15 years ago is staggering...