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Student takes up cause to design Web site

By Joyce Koballa 4 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – While he may not be serving his country overseas, one Connellsville Area High School senior showed his patriotic spirit by designing a Web site for a fledgling afterschool club that sends care packages to the military. That spirit inspired Adam Faris to develop the Web site www.cahspatriots.com just one week before he underwent surgery last month.

Faris is a member of the Connellsville Patriots, an organization formed last year by English teacher Linda Shearer aimed to promote patriotism and provide support for members of the military who have been deployed.

Those students involved in the club volunteer their time to raise money by soliciting donations for various projects throughout the year and then using that cash to purchase goods for the troops serving overseas.

Faris said his interest in designing the Web site dates back to a computer class he took during his freshman year while he plans to pursue engineering this fall upon being accepted at the University of Pittsburgh.

Both Faris and Shearer discussed the contents of the Web site before launching it, with Shearer making minor changes to the design that features a multitude of American flags, yellow ribbons, pictures of various projects involving the students and a brief history of the Patriots, all outlined in red, white and blue.

“He’s very humble about it,” said Shearer.

The Web site is funded strictly by Shearer with all funds raised by the Patriots designated for the troops.

It is registered through the Web site host GoDaddy.com, which serves as the world’s largest domain name registrar and the flagship company of The Go Daddy Group Inc.

Despite their own physical battles, both Shearer and Faris have continued to keep their spirits focused on the Patriots, even more so with Shearer possibly undergoing surgery again this summer for cancer.

Shearer said she wasn’t sure the first time she had surgery if she would be back, so she made a friend promise her to continue the club if she didn’t survive.

“I asked my doctor for one month to prepare the kids for the person taking my place and so we could get one more shipment back to the troops,” said Shearer.

Last year, the Patriots raised more $1,500 with many of the packages sent to units of soldiers from the Connellsville area stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Those efforts were recognized when the club became part of a documentary aired Christmas Day in 2004 on the Fox News Network.

Shearer said she’ll never forget the day she received the phone call from Fox news anchor Monica Hill because she actually thought it was one of her friends playing a joke, but later into the conversation learned otherwise.

Both Hill and fellow anchor Rick Leventhal visited the school in November to meet with the staff and students involved before traveling to Iraq to tape the response of the soldiers who received 313 packages from the Patriots.

But, when they asked where Shearer could be contacted for anyone wishing to make a donation she was only able to provide them with a school address or her school e-mail.

That’s when Shearer said it was time to get a Web site.

In addition to receiving national news coverage, the Patriots managed to reach celebrities, major organizations and local businesses that donated a total of 225 items for a Celebrity/Collective auction held May 29 at the Connellsville Elks.

Faris said he photographed each item for the event, which took a lot of time in order to make them fit properly on the screen.

Shearer said the project raised $7,000 generated from both sales and raffles.

Shearer said 63 registered bidders raised their hands to items ranging from a 2004 autographed Steelers football to War Stories books from Oliver North with celebrities such as Barbara Bush, Vince Gill, Charlie Sheen, Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna also contributing.

Auctioneers Sam and Mark Glassburn sold the items.

According to Shearer, a donation by a former student received the highest bid during the auction block. It was for a seven-night stay at a West Palm Beach condominium went for $600.

The item was the most heartwarming for Shearer since it came from a former student who said donated the condo as a way to give Shearer the gratitude she deserved as a teacher.

“With the strength of the program I hope the Patriots will continue even if I’m not able to do it myself,” said Shearer.

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