The Erin Crowley Foundation - Blog

2010 Erin Crowley Scholarship Presentation

Wed, 12 May 2010 08:29:55 -0800

Yesterday I attended the Scholarship luncheon for the Erin Crowley Scholarship. I wanted to share my very short speech with you especially the "Parable" I found. The attached picture is the recipient of the $4000 scholarship: Sheyda Abouii. Erin would have really liked Sheyda. She is going to Harvard to study microbiology and International relations. A very sweet girl!
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In April of 2007 we were notified by the RMHC of Central TX that our daughter, Erin, an 18 year old senior at St. Michael’s Catholic Academy, was the recipient of one of the scholarships given that year. Their call came just days before she passed away from a brain tumor and a five year battle with cancer. But Erin never stopped hoping, planning, and praying for a bright future. She had applied to college, won scholarships, made plans. I’m sure much like you. But it was not to be.Now through this scholarship in Erin’s name her memory lives on.   Words can barely express our thanks and gratitude to the Central Texas Coop of McDonald’s owners for bestowing this tremendous honor on Erin and for inviting us to be here today to help present the Erin Crowley Scholarship for 2010.

My words to you are brief: Never underestimate your ability to touch others in all that you do. Erin had little idea how her life and how she lived it would do just that. I hope that as you prepare to go out into the world to realize your own dreams you will not forget that potential for influence and how your life will impact all those you meet in ways you may never know.

A story….A Pencil Maker took the new pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.   "There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand." [Faith]

"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil." [Courage]

"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make [with your eraser]." [Always forgive]

"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside." [Understand you own self-worth/have confidence]

"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write." [Live life with purpose]

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.   Now replace the pencil with you.

Allow this simple story to encourage each of you to know that you are a special person and that only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish. Never allow yourself to be discouraged and think that your life is insignificant. Do not underestimate the mark your life will have on others even in the smallest of circumstances. “Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, [God’s] purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again.”
From The Shack and Wm. Paul Young

Congratulations to all of you and especially to Sheyda Aboii, this year’s recipient of the Erin Crowley Scholarship.

Three Years Later

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 19:16:07 -0800

Today, April 25, 2010, is the third anniversary of Erin’s passing. Our lives continue on even without our precious daughter. The weight of that cloak of sadness we donned so many years ago has only become more balanced with the passing of time and the beautiful life events that continue to fill our lives in this time “since Erin died”. What a great watershed that event has become to us.

Now our grief has filled a box precariously perched high on a shelf. Sometimes we choose to climb the ladder to reach up (or in) to take that box down, open it up, and let it settle over us again. But more often than not a passing memory, a song, or even a place will knock it off the shelf unexpectedly and the box will fall on us without warning covering us again with that grief until we very carefully fold it, lay it back in the box, and place it on the shelf again. It will always be with us, both a sad fact, but comforting too, that for as much as we grieve for Erin that is the depth of our love for her. It will never stop; it is a new part of us.

What brings us great joy today, and I know to Erin also, are the life events of our daughter, Megan, her husband, Jeremy, and our sweet first grandson, Colin, as well as our son, Kevin and our new daughter-in-law, Catherine. They are all such beautiful people and they fill us with so much happiness! We thrill at each new event in their lives and try to spend as much time with them as possible. We know well the air flights to St. Louis, MO, and are learning the same about those to Santa Monica, CA. We love each moment spent with them for we know how precious they (and those moments) are!

We thank God daily for the gift of Erin and all that she continues to teach us about life, courage, and faith even today. We thank Him for enriching our lives with the gentle touch of hers. We pray our memories of her will always fill us with happiness and hope.

Do something fun today in memory of Erin: go to a movie, go dancing, read a book, visit family, go to the mall, play with a pet, wear high heels!

We're so excited to have this website, where, in her memory and with your help, we continue to carry on the good works of organizations close to our family.

If you would like to revisit our old website: www.caringbridge.org/tx/erincrowley

With love and thanks,
Debbie and Tim

The Erin Crowley Foundation
PO Box 26776
Austin, TX 78755

“Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, [God’s] purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again.”

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

Welcome to our blog!

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:08:09 -0800

Welcome all! We're transitioning to using the new Erin Crowley Foundation website as the primary way we communicate with all of you rather than the CaringBridge site. Check back often for updates and we'll notify you when we've posted something new.

Hope you are all doing well.

Love and blessings,
Debbie