“In a world filled with bad news, I just wanted to encourage kids to
think positive and begin a path of service to others. The personal joy that
these kid heroes got from doing their good deeds was clearly their best reward.
”
undreds of kids under the age of 18 entered a “Do a Good Deed” essay contest hosted by local orthodontist Dr. Ray McLendon, owner of Clear
Choice Orthodontic Associates.
Dr. McLendon, who is an Eagle Scout, wanted to encourage more youths to get in the habit of doing good deeds for others, and recoginze those who might
already be doing good deeds. He offered a new laptop computer as the prize
given out by each of his five Houston offices. Contestants did not need to be
patients;
they just needed to be under age 18.
McLendon said, “It was difficult to choose the five winners of the contests, many of these
entries literally brought tears to our eyes as we read them.
”
All of the kids who entered the contests are youthful heroes and will receive an
Award of Merit from Dr. McLendon.
There were so many selfless acts and a consistent theme of thinking of others.
McLendon was so moved by the selfless acts of the winning entries that he also
wanted to honor them in addition to giving them the computers. He began making
personal cash contributions to the local charities that were important to the
five winners. These charities included Muscular Dystrophy, Coat for Kids, Boy
Scouts of America, Shriners Charity Hospitals and Best Buddies.
“In a world filled with bad news, I just wanted to encourage kids to think
positive and begin a path of service to others. The personal joy that these kid
heroes got from doing their good deeds was clearly their best reward,
” says McLendon.
The Good Deed Contest winner from the 1960 area is Miles Scarbrough, 10, who
participates in Taekwondo and is part of a
leadership team that does work in the community.
Miles’ good deed essay described how he took fresh fruit and socks to the elderly men
and women of the Heritage Home in Tomball. Miles said they spent hours visiting
the people and listening to stories. They preformed a special show for them as
well. The group also planned to visit the Shiner
’s burn victims. Miles says he thinks everyone should do what they can to make
this world a better place to live in.
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