2005
Honorees:
Karen Turner
"Children, you are wonderful just the way you are!"
April 12, 2005
It’s a great honor and very
humbling for me to stand here, and congratulations to the other award
winners who inspire me to continue working on behalf of children. This
award reflects a powerful vision of the NH Children’s Alliance
to unite statewide advocacy efforts with the grassroots efforts these
awards tonight represent. How powerful we can be when we unite!
I stand here as a parent who wants what every parent wants for their
child, what every child deserves—to find a place of belonging,
friends, and opportunities to teach and be taught. Whatever resonance
or power my voice can carry on behalf of children with disabilities,
I owe fully to my son Nikhil who is the engine and the heart of all
this work. His yearning to belong and find a home for his gifts inspire
and challenge me every day to live up to his promise.
The successes I represent go far beyond me as an individual. Inclusion
moves from possibility to reality only when we come together. I am part
of a fabric of many wonderful and dedicated people who have come together
around a shared vision of inclusion. I’d like to thank Anneliese
Fisher and Jim Hilton from the Newmarket Recreation Dept, Kathleen Murphy
and other members of the Newmarket School District, Heidi Chase from
the FRIENDS Project, and the many other parents in my community of Newmarket
and around the state who dedicate themselves to their children.
I have also found a home within the Institute on Disability, which
has helped me to embrace and strengthen my voice for inclusion. This
award honors these people as much as myself.
At the core of this work is, of course, the children themselves. When
we learn to listen and see with our hearts, we see gifts beyond measure
in children with autism, Asperger Syndrome and other disabilities. When
we listen and see with our hearts, we don’t see their disabilities
at all. What becomes clear is their humor, their tenacity, their promise.
Our community of Newmarket has learned that creating openings for children
with disabilities to be full participants in educational and community
settings is, in the end, a gift to all children. When children with
these differences are among their peers, it liberates all children to
be more fully themselves.
So again, Thank you to the New Hampshire Children’s Alliance.
Thank you to parents of children with disabilities who create a community
of support and encouragement. Thank you to the many partners I have
found along the way in my community of Newmarket and beyond.
Together we are planting seeds of hope, and I am honored to be a part
of this journey.
Most of all, thank you to you beautiful children who give us meaning
and hope, enriching our lives and our communities. I know you want to
join me as I raise my voice to say: Children, you are wonderful just
the way you are!
---------------------------------------------
Award categories
Watch WMUR-TV's "The Help You Need" promotional
ad about the Children's Alliance Awards.
Watch our promotional ad
on WMUR-TV, featuring former Governor Walter Peterson
