Anyone Can Cheer - a children’s story

Hello dear friends,

One summer, as a university student, I worked for Pauline Hess and her company called the United States Cheerleader’s Association which operated between 1956-1990. Now, as a retired teacher, I have written a children’s book which is a companion story to the larger non-fiction book that I am working on about Miss Hess and USCA. It is my hope that with these projects, Miss Hess will have her place in American cheerleading history.

The children’s story is about a young cheerleading mouse named Miss Polly who gathers animals from the forest to build her team. They are quirky but enthusiastic and together, they celebrate the idea that anyone can cheer. I have included a tribute page to Miss Hess following the story.

Former USCA staffer, Erick Greene is the illustrator for this journey. He is perfect for this job as he did his schooling in graphic design. This fundraiser is to help pay his fees and some of the publishing costs as we are working with Friesen Press who will help with editing, book and cover design, formatting, and getting the book on a variety of different sites for sale including Amazon and the Friesen site for Print On Demand services.

I have posted a first peek at Miss Polly as designed by Erick. She will likely undergo a few more revisions as the project progresses but I think she is ADORABLE!

How can you be a part of the fun?

We will add your name OR you and your partner’s name to the Sponsorship Page of our book as a thank you for donating.

Our goal is $5000. Fingers crossed!!

Here are the levels of sponsorship:

Premium Sponsor $49

All-Star Sponsor $99

Elite Sponsor $149

Ambassador Sponsor $199

Of course, you can donate any amount you would like! We are grateful for any and all support. And should you change your mind about which level you want to be part of, we can help you with that!

Now for deadlines: this campaign will end October 1, 2024.

By then we should have most of the details in place and be ready for all the publishing steps that come after the illustrations are complete.

I have been so excited to work on this endeavour. It has kept me busy and productive and given me a chance to re-connect with old friends! What could be better than that?

Grateful and appreciatively yours,

Karen May Healey