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Sunday, September 15, 1996 Page: 3A
Easter Seal girl seals lips
Jennifer Marshall, 10,
named child ambassador for Easter Seal Society of the Northeastern
CountiesBut she’s not inclined to talk about it right now.
By CECE TODD
Times Leader Staff Writer
WILKES-BARRE — As a new ambassador for Easter Seals, 10-year-old Jennifer
Marshall is learning fast how to be a public official under pressure.
Smile for the camera. Look the reporter in the eye.
No comment.
“I don’t want to answer her questions,” the Kistler Elementary
fourth-grader says. “I don’t want to be interviewed.”
Her mother, Patricia Marshall of Exeter, tries to coax a better response.
“Come on,” she says, “you like to talk. Tell the reporter about your dolls.”
“No.”
Mom shakes her head and offers an apologetic smile.
“I wish she would talk to you,” she says. “I’m so proud of her.”
Jennifer has been chosen to represent Easter Seal Society of the
Northeastern Counties as a child ambassador. She will represent the agency,
which provides programs and services for people with disabilities, at various
functions throughout the year.
“She’s come such a long way,” her mother says.
Jennifer was born with spina bifida, a developmental defect that causes
paralysis of the legs; hydrocephalus, an abnormal increase of fluid in the
brain; and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
She has endured nine brain surgeries since she was an infant.
Jennifer also is a Girl Scout and a member of Winners on Wheels, a group of
girls with spina bifida that meets on weekends and attends activities. Every
summer, she attends Easter Seals camp.
It was at this year’s camp that her counselor spotted ambassador potential
in Jennifer and nominated her for the honor.
“At camp, she used to just sit there, but now she participates,” her mother
says. “She makes friends. She likes to help take care of other kids.”
At Coal Street Park, where she has come to play, Jennifer is far more
interested in swinging with the other kids than talking to a pesky reporter.
Patricia Marshall sighs, but gazes at her daughter with a mother’s pride.
She knows that when called upon, Jennifer the Ambassador will represent Easter
Seals well.
“And hopefully,” mom says, “she’ll talk a little more.”
TIMES LEADER/LEWIS GEYER
Patricia Marshall of Exeter swings daughter Jennifer, 10, during a recent
outing to Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre.