Hoo Haven receives grant award from the
Lauren Townsend Memorial Wildlife Fund!
By Tina Miller
Lauren Dawn “Lulu” Townsend
January 17, 1981 - April 20, 1999
Born two months premature in 1981, Lauren Dawn Townsend fought to live. She survived prematurity and grew into a wonderful young woman with strong values and a deep love for animals and nature. Her strong spirit allowed her to accomplish great things throughout her lifetime including a 4.0 grade point average and a talent for athletics, particularly volleyball. Lauren was the Captain of her high school volleyball team (her mother became her coach) and she was to be her Senior class valedictorian at her graduation in May 1999. She had earned scholarships to attend Colorado State University with lifelong dreams of becoming a wildlife biologist.
On April 20, 1999, two boys entered the library at Columbine High School and opened fire. Lauren was among the 12 students and one teacher killed at the school on that fateful day. The nation mourned with her family and this tragedy will never be forgotten. However, through this dark and horrific event, Lauren’s family is determined to bring something positive to the world ~ in her memory. Hoo Haven is proud to be a part of Lauren’s legacy. Here is the story of how Hoo Haven came to know Lauren and her family years later.
Last fall, we decided that we would try something new to enhance the Raptor Ambassador Program for schools. We created several Wildlife Discovery Trunks filled with books, games, videos and such that students could explore in the classroom in the weeks before their Raptor program. The trunks were a huge hit at the trial school and we were searching for grant funding to pay for the expenses involved. In November, as I flipped between American Idol commercial breaks, I caught a few minutes of a new Lifetime Original Movie entitled, “Dawn Anna.” It was the true-life story of a single mother, her unbelievable recovery from brain surgery, and the sudden death of her daughter. It was the story of Lauren Townsend’s mother. For reasons unknown (but probably well-known to God), I was urged to not only watch the movie, but learn more about Dawn Anna and Lauren. As I went to the Internet in the wee hours of the morning, I did a Google search and thousands of possible websites appeared. Would you believe that the very first website listed was for the “Lauren Townsend Memorial Wildlife Fund?” God had certainly planned for me to see this! I immediately started writing the grant proposal on behalf of Hoo Haven. Strangely, just days prior to this, one of Hoo Haven’s beloved educational birds (LucyLu) passed away from natural causes – just before we were to do several programs at my high school. We was decided that LucyLu’s successor would be another sweet little screech owl who had been with Hoo Haven for 2 years as a surrogate mother. It was odd for us to have a bird that long without giving it a name ~ now we knew why. Her name would be “Lulu,” the nickname that Lauren’s family had given her as a child. It is our prayer that our feathered Lulu will help Hoo Haven share a part of Lauren’s caring spirit each time she teaches children (and all people) about owls and other wildlife. As her family recalls, “We taught our children to love and respect nature and animals. Lauren loved all animals and nurtured that love through her work at an animal hospital/kennel. She had many pets over her lifetime that included two dogs, frogs, snakes, birds, gerbils, hamsters, Moo-Shu the baby chick, several fish, and even Jim the Rooster for a short time! She hated the thought of anyone doing harm to God’s creatures and felt we should all do what we can to protect them.” This is Hoo Haven’s way to continue Lauren’s dream to conserve wildlife and educate children. We are absolutely honored to have the support of Lauren’s family as we make the Raptor Ambassador Program and Wildlife Discovery Trunks better than ever with funds from her memorial! I love to think that LucyLu and Lauren are both in heaven, enjoying what we have done to keep their memories alive. And, I anxiously wait for the day that I can meet Lauren in the presence of God ~ and thank her for touching my life and so many others’. Wind to your wings, my friend….wind to your wings! God Bless you, Lauren, LucyLu and our newest feathered teacher “Lulu!”