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Speaker 1: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, Extraordinary Gifts, Unique challenges, and

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Speaker 1: Mike and Nancy Kaplan, along with United Way of Central Georgia,

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Speaker 1: announced the Merry Christmas Project and honor of Mary's love

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Speaker 1: for Christmas Miss Good And again, like I said, I'm blessed.

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Speaker 1: I truly am blast have had her. Not a day

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Speaker 1: goes by that Mike and Nancy are not thinking about

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Speaker 1: their daughter. Our whole life was centered around this precious

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Speaker 1: jewel that we had for a while, and I want

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Speaker 1: other people to experience it. I really do, from everything

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Speaker 1: that's in me. Always used to say that she was

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Speaker 1: like one of the Avengers. She had superpowers instead of disabilities.

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Speaker 1: Us always said she had abilities because she had a

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Speaker 1: superhart that was big enough for a place for everybody

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Speaker 1: and made everybody feel like they had a place in

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Speaker 1: her heart. Well, you know, after seeing a world of

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Speaker 1: crime and murder and mayhem, it takes a lot to

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Speaker 1: bring me to tears. But those words of this wonderful

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Speaker 1: mother and father who, even though they no longer have

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Speaker 1: their beautiful girl, Mary, have somehow turned her life, her existence,

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Speaker 1: her joy, her exuberance for living into something that matters

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Speaker 1: in this world. I'm Nancy Grace, this is crime stories,

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Speaker 1: and I have such a story for you today is

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Speaker 1: the story of Mary M E R R I E.

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Speaker 1: And with me my longtime friend Jamie Kaplan, Director Philanthropy

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Speaker 1: United Way Central Georgia, George mccannless, President CEO of United

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Speaker 1: Wise Central Georgia, and special guest Nancy and Mike Caplin,

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Speaker 1: father and mother of Mary. Nancy, your words moved me

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Speaker 1: to tears. Tell me about Mary, My goodness. You know

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Speaker 1: this is really hard this morning, Nancy, because I cry

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Speaker 1: every morning and it's most morning time. But that's good.

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Speaker 1: I would like to cry with you all because I

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Speaker 1: know you all care. Mary was a supernatural soul that

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Speaker 1: we got to have on earth, and I know that

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Speaker 1: I needed her and never planned to have children, and

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Speaker 1: I had this little surprise and then lo and behold,

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Speaker 1: she was my special child. And I have learned all

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Speaker 1: the important things about life now. I wasn't sure about

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Speaker 1: what mattered in life, and so God gave her to

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Speaker 1: me and showed me the way to go. Oh, I'm

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Speaker 1: so thankful for the time that we had her. And

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Speaker 1: actually I had Mary before I had Mike. And I

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Speaker 1: know good and will that he married me just to

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Speaker 1: get married because she was that adorable. And I kind

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Speaker 1: of worried after she first passed away that he might

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Speaker 1: listen to me. But we had had a courtship before

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Speaker 1: I married before Mary, and so we kind of relied

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Speaker 1: on that. We're still together. But honestly, she was a

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Speaker 1: loving soul and she had hundreds of friends. We knew

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Speaker 1: that she had a lot of friends, and we saw

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Speaker 1: friends wherever we went, and met people that we never

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Speaker 1: even knew that she had grown to love and they

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Speaker 1: had grown to love her. And when we buried her,

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Speaker 1: there weren't enough seats in the room and the church

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Speaker 1: and wrapped around the church twice. It was beyond happiness.

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Speaker 1: And that's because of the love that she showed for people,

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Speaker 1: and also the Christmas loves, the christ like love that

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Speaker 1: she showed it. Of course, that's my religion, and I'm

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Speaker 1: married to a Jewish fan, and we don't understand why

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Speaker 1: the world can't get along because it's all God is love.

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Speaker 1: And now we've learned that the cure for grief is service,

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Speaker 1: and so we're carrying on in that way in her name. Well,

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Speaker 1: you know what you brought up a really interesting point.

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Speaker 1: Take a listen guys to our friends at thirteen m

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Speaker 1: z Kiella song. Outside the Kaplan home is a wreath.

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Speaker 1: Attached to it is the University of Georgia's football team

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Speaker 1: schedule for the year. Sports ruled at our house thanks

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Speaker 1: to Mary and I that's my sports buddy. I had

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Speaker 1: been a Sanford stadium in thirty years without her, Mike

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Speaker 1: Kaplan says his daughter Mary loved all things Georgia sports,

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Speaker 1: especially the Bulldogs. She hated nothing except for the University

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Speaker 1: of Florida. She hated the Gators. But with football season

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Speaker 1: also comes Christmas, which was Mary's favorite Oliday, and her

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Speaker 1: father says their home won't feel the same this holiday season.

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Speaker 1: Mary would pick out our Christmas tree. Mary would help

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Speaker 1: us decorate the tree. Mary would do everything. I'm Jewish,

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Speaker 1: and yet every November first, Mary and I would have

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Speaker 1: to start listening to Christmas music in the car. That

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Speaker 1: is exactly what we do at our home. The moment

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Speaker 1: I wake the twins up in the morning, I say, Alexa,

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Speaker 1: play Christmas carols and we listen on the way to school.

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Speaker 1: I have it on when they come home. We love Christmas,

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Speaker 1: and I've just got to say Mary loved Santa loved him,

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Speaker 1: and I'm looking at a photo of her with Santa

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Speaker 1: right now. She believed in Santa. She loves Santa. And

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Speaker 1: what better way to remember Mary than to help other

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Speaker 1: people at Christmas. I'm joining along with United Way and

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Speaker 1: Mary's family to help people spread the love of Christmas

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Speaker 1: with presents, trees, and food throughout the community. And you

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Speaker 1: can help us with me, Nancy and Mike Kaplan. So, Mike,

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Speaker 1: I'm thinking of you singing those Christmas carols around the

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Speaker 1: Christmas tree with Mary. But tell me this. I want

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Speaker 1: you to explain to me what is Williams syndrome that

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Speaker 1: Mary suffered. Well, Williams syndrome is a genetic disorder, and

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Speaker 1: Nancy cap them, my wife, I have to help me.

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Speaker 1: I think they're missing how many chromosomes, Nancy, They're they're

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Speaker 1: missing nineteen to twenty six chromosomes on Jean number seven. Well, yes,

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Speaker 1: And the cool part about this, Nancy, is that while

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Speaker 1: they have some disabilities, their abilities or Mary's was or

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Speaker 1: the size of her heart and her ability to make

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Speaker 1: everybody feel love, but their social schools are normally high.

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Speaker 1: As is there hearing that's such perfect pitch and perfect hearing.

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Speaker 1: They're trying to figure this out. They have a camp

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Speaker 1: up at Vanderbilt University at the Kennedy Center for people

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Speaker 1: with William Syndrome every year and they bring them in

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Speaker 1: to try to find out why they have perfect pitch

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Speaker 1: and perfect rhythm, and they write a song. And sweet

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Speaker 1: old Mary has been on the Grand Old Opery four

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Speaker 1: times and performed a song that she and her other

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Speaker 1: thirty or so campers wrote, plus Stars. I took my

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Speaker 1: husband David and the twins of the Grand Old Opery

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Speaker 1: and I was just supposed to present Jamie Kaplan. I

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Speaker 1: was supposed to introduce somebody and lo and behold guests

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Speaker 1: who came out on the stand. Jamie who came out

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Speaker 1: on the stage the Grand Old Opery square dancers, And

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Speaker 1: they said, in front of everybody, Nancy join in. Well

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Speaker 1: I done all the way back to my square dancing

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Speaker 1: days in four age. I did the best I could.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure somewhere it lives on a video. I'm embarrassed

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Speaker 1: to say I gave it all I had. But what

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Speaker 1: can you do with the Grand Old Opery were dancers.

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Speaker 1: I did my best, but I can just imagine Mary,

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Speaker 1: I bet you are all I can just imagine it

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Speaker 1: causes some you know slight to severe mental disabilities and

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Speaker 1: her social skills overcome. That she would work here at

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Speaker 1: Moms three days a week, you know. And a matter

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Speaker 1: of fact, if she can't come to you as they

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Speaker 1: would call me and come to get me, he's come

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Speaker 1: to get her. You should mention about the size of

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Speaker 1: the brain. The part of her brain that lights up

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Speaker 1: for music is larger than a quote unquote normal person's brain.

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Speaker 1: And a lot of Williams syndrum children, just to interrupt mic,

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Speaker 1: which is when I'm best at forgive me is um

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Speaker 1: that they are like the savants in music. Many are

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Speaker 1: extremely gifted in music. It's insanely beautiful, the music appreciation

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Speaker 1: and the ability to play well. Another issue, Nancy Kaplan,

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Speaker 1: is that along with that musical that incredible musical ability

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Speaker 1: that is the gift of the william syndrome also comes

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Speaker 1: with that, Jamie Kaplan, Director Philanthropy United Way Central Georgia,

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Speaker 1: is heart disease. The degrees of the heart disease and

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Speaker 1: the condition very no two cases are the same, but

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Speaker 1: it is one of the ailments that goes along with Williams.

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Speaker 1: Jamie Kaplan, what are you trying to do, Nancy, We

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Speaker 1: are trying to just continue spreading Mary's joy. She just

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Speaker 1: lit up a room and she was joy and what

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Speaker 1: we want to do is continue to spread her joy

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Speaker 1: around Central Georgia. She loved Christmas and we just when

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Speaker 1: Mike and Nancy came to United Way and taught to

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Speaker 1: us about doing the Christmas Project, we were so excited

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Speaker 1: to do this. We touch one in four people in

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Speaker 1: the Central Georgia area. We have a high high rate

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Speaker 1: of poverty in our area, and so anything that we

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Speaker 1: can do to make Christmas more joyous for people, that's

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Speaker 1: just We're just overwhelmed by the support. You know, Jamie,

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Speaker 1: it's so true. I was trying to figure out about

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Speaker 1: the twins Christmas and what they wanted, and it struck

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Speaker 1: me so many people don't have anything to eat. So

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Speaker 1: many children go to school with empty stomach. So many

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Speaker 1: children are in foster homes. They have nothing but the

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Speaker 1: clothes on their back, nothing. And hear you, Jamie and

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Speaker 1: George mccannalis, trying to help those very children in the

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Speaker 1: name of Mary. Many of you may not have heard

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Speaker 1: of Williams syndrome. Listen, extraordinary gifts, unique challenges, and more

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Speaker 1: than just a few of each. These are the hallmarks

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Speaker 1: of individuals with Williams syndrome. William syndrome is a rare

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Speaker 1: genetic disorder which affects approximately twenty thousand people in the

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Speaker 1: United States. It is caused by the deletion of twenty

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Speaker 1: six plus genes on one copy of an individual's chromosome

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Speaker 1: number seven. William syndrome and families of affected individuals encounter

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Speaker 1: major struggles. Individuals born with William syndrome share many common

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Speaker 1: facial features, as well as a constellation of medical, neurological,

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Speaker 1: and behavioral characteristics. Most individuals with William syndrome have mild

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Speaker 1: to severe cardiovascular disorders, often requiring surgery, and many suffer

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Speaker 1: from kidney, bladder, and gastrointestinal difficulties as well. Little Mary

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Speaker 1: passed away, Her spirit is living on even today. Nancy Kaplan,

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Speaker 1: Mary's mother. What happened to Mary? How did Mary pass away? Goodness?

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Speaker 1: Every time you call on me, I'm crying. Her heart

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Speaker 1: actually wasn't enlarged. And it's the only problem that we

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Speaker 1: weren't able to jump on fast enough. We weren't aware

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Speaker 1: of her in large tart and so we're actually thankful

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Speaker 1: for the way that she passed away, because her heart

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Speaker 1: beat out of her rhythm one morning um and quit beating,

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Speaker 1: and our autopsy doctor told us that it's a very

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Speaker 1: painless and easy way to go. And actually, just to

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Speaker 1: tell the story, I heard her fall that morning very early,

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Speaker 1: and h you know, being sound asleep. Wasn't sure that

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Speaker 1: it was her, well, not sure at all. I didn't

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Speaker 1: know what in the world that sound was. And then

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Speaker 1: I set up to my bed and I listened very much,

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Speaker 1: and I, you know, always mothers hear that sound that

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Speaker 1: your child makes if they need you, and I heard

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Speaker 1: no sound like that. But then I heard her talking,

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Speaker 1: just like she was talking to someone standing there. And

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Speaker 1: I now know that she was speaking with those that

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Speaker 1: have come to get her, because she was just having

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Speaker 1: a little conversation, probably with my mom and dad. And

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Speaker 1: so we're thankful for the way that she did pass

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Speaker 1: though it was unexpected. I'm very thankful for dad. God

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Speaker 1: is so good, he loves it so much. And I'm

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Speaker 1: thankful that she had to go that was the way

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Speaker 1: that he took her. Oh goodness, mother's grief never ends

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Speaker 1: with me. Nancy Kaplin, Mary's mother and her Dad, Mike Kaplan,

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Speaker 1: take a listen to our friends at thirteen amaze. Mary

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Speaker 1: had william Syndrome, a condition that affects the immune system

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Speaker 1: and learning, but her parents say it didn't stop her

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Speaker 1: from making friends people. They'll tell you their own unique

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Speaker 1: marry story and how special she was to them. The

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Speaker 1: combination of Mary's love for people and a love for

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Speaker 1: Christmas eventually led to the Merry Christmas Project. So much

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Speaker 1: help to me and my grief that we can help

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Speaker 1: people have a great Christmas. The project is through the

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Speaker 1: United Way of Central Georgia and Mike says the money

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Speaker 1: raised will help dozens of families buy people with um food, ornaments,

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Speaker 1: Christmas trees, gifts and the goal is for the Merry

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Speaker 1: Christmas Project to bring holiday cheer for years to come.

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Speaker 1: With me. George mccannell's president CEO United Way Central Georgia, George,

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Speaker 1: thank you so much for being with us. George, what

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Speaker 1: do you hope to achieve in Mary's name? You know,

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Speaker 1: just singing the the grief that they were going through,

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Speaker 1: but you know they came up with this idea of

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Speaker 1: a way to you know, honor Mary's love of Christmas.

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Speaker 1: And I remember just as a kid growing up, Christmas

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Speaker 1: was always so special in our house. And you know,

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Speaker 1: a United Way we have a program called Parents as

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Speaker 1: Teachers where we're going into the homes of those in

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Speaker 1: needs and working with them on their early childhood development.

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Speaker 1: So we see up close and personal that there are

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Speaker 1: a lot of families in this community, as Jamie mentioned earlier,

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Speaker 1: that they're not going to have Christmas. Their children don't

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Speaker 1: get presence as at Christmas. It's just in many cases,

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Speaker 1: it's sad to say, it's just like another day. And

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Speaker 1: so this was an opportunity to give those families the

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Speaker 1: kind of Christmas I think a lot of us know

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Speaker 1: about out and make Christmas memories. And at the same time,

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Speaker 1: it's really a win win because it's helping, you know,

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Speaker 1: the joy with Mike and Nancy and Jamie in keeping

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Speaker 1: Mary's name alive and she is continuing to help you.

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Speaker 1: It's amazing to me, Jamie Kaplan, Director Philanthropy United Way

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Speaker 1: Central Georgia. It's amazing to me all the good you know,

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Speaker 1: I report, and I research and investigate bad things, murderers

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Speaker 1: and child abuse and mistreatment of people and unsolved homicizes,

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Speaker 1: missing people, goes on and on and on, and I'm

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Speaker 1: always stopped in my tracks and stunned at all the

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Speaker 1: good in the world by far outweighing the bad, and

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Speaker 1: what you and Nancy and Mike and George are doing

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Speaker 1: it amazes me. Jamie. Tell me how I and everyone

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Speaker 1: listening can help you. Nancy. We've we've got on our

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Speaker 1: website at United WAYCG dot org. We've got information on

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Speaker 1: the Merry Christmas Project. There's a way to donate in

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Speaker 1: any amount, any and every amount. It all adds up

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Speaker 1: to just a a wonderful total that we can help

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Speaker 1: people at Christmas time, so it doesn't matter what someone gives,

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Speaker 1: what level they give out. We also have a local

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Speaker 1: place that's printed T shirts Force They're they're giving us

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Speaker 1: one hundred percent of the profits from Matt that's a

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Speaker 1: making monogramming over on Sife Road. We also have a

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Speaker 1: Merry Christmas coffee. We've partnered United Way as partner with

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Speaker 1: z Bean's Coffee and we have a Merry Christmas blend

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Speaker 1: and it's a wonderful Okay, stop right there. Whoa whoa

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Speaker 1: whoa whoa Wait wait wait wait, Jamie, did you say coffee?

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Speaker 1: And it helps people? Yeah, absolutely, Okay, tell me that

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Speaker 1: party again. Guys, go to United Way c is in

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Speaker 1: catge is in good dot org slash Mary Christmas Project

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Speaker 1: and Mary is spelled m E r r I E

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Speaker 1: United Way cg dot org slash Mary Christmas Project. Now,

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Speaker 1: what did you say about coffee and T shirts? So

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Speaker 1: the coffee and George, why don't you speak about the

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Speaker 1: Zban's coffee in our partnerships that Shane, Well and Nancy,

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Speaker 1: with your background with Mercer, you'll appreciate this. But z

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Speaker 1: being started a young guy, Shane Urster was mercer, was

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Speaker 1: on a mercer on a mission in Ecuador, trying to

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Speaker 1: help them find another way of living other than working

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Speaker 1: in the gold mines, and he stumbled across these coffee farmers,

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Speaker 1: and so he has been working to establish a market

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Speaker 1: in the United States for their coffee. And he's based

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Speaker 1: here in Macon and those of his own roasting ports

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Speaker 1: the beans. So we're helping these former gold mine workers

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Speaker 1: in Ecuador by buying their coffee. And so I went

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Speaker 1: to Shane and we came up with a special blend

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Speaker 1: that's got a little gingerbread and vanilla flavor in it,

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Speaker 1: and special packaging and all the proceeds go to the

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Speaker 1: Merry Christmas Project and he can well, here, I am

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Speaker 1: have given up coffee. I'm a strink tea drinker, and

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Speaker 1: now you're reeling me back again. You're reeling me back

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Speaker 1: in well, and he can ship it anywhere. I'm want

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Speaker 1: to hear. How is it going, Jamie? Is it? How

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Speaker 1: do you help people with the money? What do you

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Speaker 1: do with it? Break it down? Well, so we will

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Speaker 1: be buying Christmas trees and decorations and and food and

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Speaker 1: clothes and toys. And we've even helped one young man

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Speaker 1: that Mike and Nancy know that was having some problems

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Speaker 1: with his teeth and needed to have teeth extracted. We

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Speaker 1: have paid for that because he was getting very sick

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Speaker 1: from how bad his teeth were. And Nancy has Nancy

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Speaker 1: Capel and my sister in law has found someone that's

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Speaker 1: going to donate dentures for him. And so we are

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Speaker 1: you know, imagine the smile on that face that we're

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Speaker 1: bringing to him in Mary's name, and so we just

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Speaker 1: you know, we just want to help people in so

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Speaker 1: many ways. The response has been just incredible. It's been overwhelming.

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Speaker 1: We have raised a lot of money and we are

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Speaker 1: looking forward to helping a lot of people Christmas time.

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Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, Amen, as a matter of fact,

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Speaker 1: take a listen to our friends at w GXA United

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Speaker 1: Way of Central Georgia might be able to have it's

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Speaker 1: Mary Christmas Project created a memory of Mary Kaplan by

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Speaker 1: United we have Central Georgia and our parents provides food,

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Speaker 1: holiday decorations and gifts to families they need and during

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Speaker 1: the holiday seasons and UWCG have collaborated to create Christmas

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Speaker 1: coffee and making monogramming is printing Merry Christmas Project t shirts.

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Speaker 1: All proceeds from the coffee and T shirts will benefit

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Speaker 1: the Merry Christmas Project. You can't get much warm and

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Speaker 1: fuzzier than a warm cup of coffee that not only

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Speaker 1: is going to warm your soul but also help spread

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Speaker 1: joy throughout the community because that cup of coffee is

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Speaker 1: going to give back to the community. It's something that

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Speaker 1: those proceeds from that are going to benefit the Merry

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Speaker 1: Christmas Project and help buy toys and decore and food

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Speaker 1: for people in need during the holidays, a time that

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Speaker 1: we're thinking of others and wanting to give back. We

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Speaker 1: are talking about the Merry Christmas Project. You know what.

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Speaker 1: When people tell me they feel empty, that they're sad,

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Speaker 1: I always say the same thing. Look out, don't look in,

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Speaker 1: don't think about yourself, think about what you can do

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Speaker 1: for other people. This is a way to help people

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Speaker 1: at this so called season of love. United Way cg

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Speaker 1: dot org slash Merry Christmas Project Nancy again, I want

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Speaker 1: to hear, which sometimes I feel like I'm the only

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Speaker 1: one in the world that feels this way. There's nothing

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Speaker 1: stronger on this earth anyway than a mother's love. That's

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Speaker 1: the truth. Tell me your thoughts, tell me your thoughts

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Speaker 1: about your love for Mary. I am so excited. Really, um,

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Speaker 1: it's been my only help out of this grief. I'm

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Speaker 1: not saying that I don't cry every day. I think

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Speaker 1: we all have heard that, and I will continue to cry,

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Speaker 1: but I've I've now seen so many women that have

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Speaker 1: gone my way that have have seen that the only cure.

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Speaker 1: There is no real cure, but the only help in

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Speaker 1: this dark sea of grief is to is to look out.

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Speaker 1: Just like you said, you have to look outside of

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Speaker 1: yourself and help someone else, because that is what love is.

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Speaker 1: I don't care what your religion is, if it's a

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Speaker 1: religion of love. I'm with you and we can go

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Speaker 1: forward together and Venice, don't we need that now in

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Speaker 1: this world? And it's really very simple to just look

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Speaker 1: outside of yourself and help others, just as my daughter

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Speaker 1: would do. She taught me so much about that and

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Speaker 1: what's important, and that's why so many people loved her,

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Speaker 1: because they knew that she loved them first. And we're

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Speaker 1: going to really have a good time. This Christmas is

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Speaker 1: going to be great. Merry Christmas to Jamie, George, Mike

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Speaker 1: and Nancy. Again. If you want to help other people,

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Speaker 1: there's a way to do it United ycg dot org slash.

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Speaker 1: Merry Christmas to all of you listening, Mary Christmas, and

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Speaker 1: God bless Nancy. Grace Crime Story signing off, goodbye friend,