AVALON — Volunteers with the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children in Avalon paid extra attention to the NCAA women’s college basketball championship game on Tue., April 5. That was because one of the camp counselors at the home, Mary Forr, suited up for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish when they squared off against Texas A&M in Indianapolis, Ind. Texas A&M won the championship game, 76-70.
“We could not be more proud of Mary’s academic and athletic accomplishments at Notre Dame University,” said Avalon Councilman and Avalon Lions Club volunteer Joseph Tipping. “Avalon residents paid close attention to Notre Dame’s remarkable run in the post season and we were excited to see such a dynamic, bright young woman like Mary being a part of it.”
Forr was officially added to the Notre Dame varsity basketball ros-ter during the 2010-11 basketball season. Forr previously spent parts of three seasons as part of Notre Dame’s “Sixth Man” team, which is a practice squad for the varsity team. Forr was also named as the 2009 Notre Dame RecSports Female Athlete of the Year after she won a total of 11 individual/team intramural cham-pionships while attending Notre Dame.
Forr played in 20 games for the Fighting Irish during the basketball season, logging 95 minutes of game action. She scored a total of 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and two blocked shots.
During the summers of 2008-2010, Forr worked as a camp counselor at the Diller Home. Her duties included planning, adapting, and supervising camp activities, and the general care of campers, blind or visually impaired, some with other disabilities. Her future plans include teaching in a Georgia high school while obtaining a Master’s degree in Education, and then pursuing law school.
“The Diller Home was very fortunate to have Mary work as a counselor over the past three summers,” said Jen Layton, camp di-rector for the Home. “Everyone at the home is thankful for her service and efforts, and we wish Mary all of the best as she pursues her professional career as an educator.”
The Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children provides a free week-long vacation to visually-impaired children between the ages of 7 and 15.
Each camp experience for the children is from a Saturday to the following Saturday, starting in the middle of June until the middle of August. This summer marks the 39th consecutive year the Home has provided free vacations to the campers thanks to generous donations from the Avalon Lions Club, Tim Kerr Charities, and the greater Avalon community.
Throughout the summer campers are offered a wide variety of fun and educational programs along with field trips. The Bay-Atlantic Symphony, which calls Avalon its “summer home”, provides a learning series for the children at the Home.
Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children is located at 127 26th St. in Avalon. For information, visit www.dillerblindhome.org.
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