Madigan to Honor Special Little Heroes

It is a day to honor little heroes who belong to the area’s big heroes.

Saturday marks the 12th annual Claire Daily-Stafinbil Young Heroes Award Ceremony at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The ceremony, which begins at 1 p.m. in the medical center’s Letterman Auditorium, recognizes the achievements of physically and developmentally challenged children of active-duty soldiers. This year, 14 children have been nominated by friends, family, teachers and physicians for their courage in facing individual medical challenges.

The ceremony is open to civilians accompanied by someone with a military ID.

“It’s a very heartwarming ceremony,” said Heidi Singh, a Madigan Foundation board member involved with the ceremony. “It’s a very joyful time for these kids. Many have experienced a lot in a very short life – a lot of medical challenges.”

A Young Hero medal, certificate and special gift bags will be presented to each child. In addition to donated Build-a-Bear certificates, each bag is tailored to the child’s interests. The committee speaks with each child’s family to get that information, Singh said.

According to its web site, the Madigan Foundation believes that a hero is someone who demonstrates extraordinary courage and valor in the face of adversity. Brave soldiers wear different uniforms, its web site says, and one of those uniforms can be the clothes belonging to a children fighting life-threatening illnessness.

Among this year’s recipients are the four children of Ret. SFC Kevin Hill, who, with his wife Andrea, adopted the quartet from an Ethiopian orphanage over the past several years.

Biruk and Misrak, 7; Amira, 6; and Micah, 4; all  arrived in the United States with health problems but are thriving under the care of their parents and Madigan’s pediatric developmental clinic. All four can now speak English and have enjoyed learning to ride bikes.

Singh said her favorite part of being involved with the awards ceremony is being able to honor children who are “sometimes on the fringe of other exciting events in children’s lives.”

“They’re not always going to be the star student or the star athlete at their school,” she said, “and this is a day just devoted to them and all of the attention is on them.”

Singh said that the foundation has been participating in the national Young Heroes program since 2000 and coordinates with the medical center’s pediatrics staff. In 2005, the program was dedicated to Claire Daily-Stafinbil, a founding board member of the Madigan Foundation.

This year, the foundation received funding to prolong its involvement in the awards through the will of a Vietnam veteran with ties to Madigan who suffered severe injuries as a result of his service.