Posts Tagged ‘Teens in Public Service’

The Marah Project: Penny LeGate and a Daughter’s Legacy

Posted: December 8, 2012 in journalism, teen drug awareness, women's issues
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Since last Friday, more than 1,900 of you have watched The Marah Project video. If everyone who’s watched would give just $2.00 (that’s it … 2 bucks) we’d have enough for two full internships with Teens for Public Service. Since this summer when the internship program was set up, more than $22,000 has been raised for The Marah Project.

As many of you know in June, Seattle TV personality Penny LeGate’s daughter, Marah Williams, lost a long battle with drug addiction and depression. From loss comes new outreach and this short documentary aimed at raising awareness and funds for an internship in Marah’s name. Take a few minutes and watch this video I produced with Penny and Mike Williams’s gracious help. They were remarkably open and willing to share in the hopes that something good might one day come from Marah’s passing. Perhaps it will. Perhaps you’ll contribute. We hope so.

http://www.teensinpublicservice.org/get-involved/the-marah-project/

On Monday, watch KING 5’s Evening Magazine for their feature about The Marah Project. Penny LeGate co-hosted the show with Brian Tracy for nine years in the 90’s. “Evening Magazine” airs at 7:00pm Monday on KING 5 (NBC in Seattle). Don’t miss it.

http://www.king5.com/on-tv/evening-magazine

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Penny LeGate Update: A Daughter’s Legacy

Posted: July 31, 2012 in journalism
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A Beautiful and Amazing Child

Marah Williams – Ethiopia – March, 2012

Her mother says 19 year-old Marah Williams took care of others in many ways unknown to most of us until her death on June 12, 2012. Marah’s mom is Penny LeGate, a former Seattle TV (KIRO 7) anchorwoman and (KING 5) Evening Magazine co-host. Penny says, “Marah was an extremely intuitive, loving person who shouldered everyone else’s burdens.” LeGate says, “They became part of Marah’s internal fabric, leaving her little energy for her own troubles.”

A few weeks after this March, 2012 photo was taken in Ethiopia, Penny lost her daughter who had battled chemical dependency and depression for years. Marah had accompanied her mom on a trip exploring Ethiopia’s remote Omo Valley. LeGate says, “It’s home to many colorful, indigenous tribes that are rapidly disappearing due to development. Marah’s striking blonde hair, tattoos, and gentle heart guaranteed a cloud of villagers gathered around her, especially the children.”  Mom and daughter had traveled together to other countries such as Vietnam and Nicaragua in years past.  Ethiopia would be the last trip the two would make together.

Penny says one of Marah’s lifelines was Northgate Middle College, an alternative high school which is part of the Seattle Public School system’s safety net program. LeGate says, “These struggling teens who don’t fit into a typical high school environment get individual guidance there so they can get the credits necessary to finish high school.”

Marah (left) her mom (right)

Marah Williams – Ethiopia – March, 2012

In order to support other teens like Marah, Penny, Marah’s father Mike Williams, and sister Molly, want to direct memorial funds into a special account called The Marah Project. It’ll award paid internships to youth selected from the Middle College Program in Seattle. The fund will be managed by Teens in Public Service, an organization with a proven track record of 15 years.  Teens in Public Service provides paid internships to youth in community service jobs.  LeGate says, “The Marah Project will give underserved teens a life-changing opportunity to succeed and also provide support as these often forgotten kids work to achieve their life goals.”

It will also be the way one mom keeps her daughter’s legacy alive.

This link goes directly to The Marah Project:

http://www.teensinpublicservice.org/get-involved/the-marah-project/