Send This Kid To Space Camp Already!

This is Auggie.  Auggie has been passionate about all things space-related for most of his life. At the age of 4, Auggie wrote a letter to astronaut John Glenn, telling him how he loves space. His letter ended with "P.S. I am an astronaut."  At the age of 5, Auggie learned about Space Camp. He has dreamed of going ever since. At the age of 6, Auggie started to save his money. It took him a year, but by the age of 7, he was able to afford a "Space Shuttle" belt buckle.  Auggie builds spaceships out of legos and larger ones out of cardboard. Each year for Halloween, he has a more elaborate ship than the year before which he wears as his costume.  I pick Auggie up from school and hang out with him four afternoons a week until his mom gets home from work. We do all sorts of fun things together. I help him learn how to play Star Wars themes on the piano. He picks up playing more quickly than I am able to teach. He sets up shop outside his house to sell his original art. He gives me the task of helping to attract people to his shop by waving a sign around as cars drive by. I attempt to help him with math homework (having to research common core methodology on YouTube). We play Lego city where we build spaceships, landing bases, homes, and stores. He has developed a complex system of valuation revolving around the small, round Lego pieces. He creams me in Monopoly and "Silly Tag" - a game that requires me to chase him by doing the backward crab walk while he rolls around the house on an exercise ball. When I become too exhausted to continue this game, Auggie reminds me that I want to get into better shape and encourages me to continue by saying, "Come on, Kathy! You're determined!" One day, we watched the launching of a Space X rocket on the tiny screen of my phone. He described all the processes and stages using complicated aeronautical jargon. He was happy to explain their meaning to me. But one of the main reasons I love hanging around with Auggie is he teaches me about love and compassion. He helps me to see different perspectives, sometimes with great exasperation. But his desire for justice is strong enough to compel him to continue striving to teach me things. He encourages me to use my creative thinking. He encourages me to exercise. I feel like I should pay HIM for the time we spend together. That's why I started thinking about sending him to Space Camp. Auggie just turned 11. The first tier of Space Camp is for children from age 9 to 11. If there ever was a kid that needs to go to Space Camp, it would be Auggie! This is his dream, his passion. And the time to send him is upon us! Auggie's mom supports him all by herself. She works fulltime at a non-profit organization that feeds the hungry. But she does several other jobs on the side to make ends meet. She makes enough money to take care of their monthly expenses. But so far, not enough to send Auggie to Space Camp. I too, cannot afford to send Auggie to Space Camp on my own. But I have a lot of friends that might like to chip in to make this happen. So I figured let's go for it! If we all chip in together, we can give this fantastically brilliant child a joyously huge affirmation: We believe in you, Astronaut Auggie! And we thank-you for making the world a better place! Stay smart and follow your dreams!