Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150106
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When seventh-grader Rachel Chandler of Roanoke began searching for answers to an age-old philosophical question, she turned first to the wisest mentors she knows. She asked her parents.
"I guess I was just wondering about the meaning of life," she said. "I wanted to know what was the most important lesson, and what it takes to succeed."
Her parents' answers sounded sage enough. Understanding the value of family, her mom said. Perseverance, responded her dad. Then Rachel, 11, decided to consult some other experts.
She wrote letters to people she admired, nearly 200 in all - authors, politicians, actors and actresses, comedians, humanitarians - asking for their advice.
She heard back from them in droves. More than half of the celebrities sent autographed photos, and many shared words of wisdom.
Rachel's letter-writing campaign started as a modest Girl Scout project last spring. Beginning with author Judy Blume, her mailing list had about 25 names. Before long, though, it had bloomed into a major project that touched an extensive - and eclectic - group of famous folks.
Bill and Hillary Clinton. Randy Travis. Mother Teresa. Cher.
Gloria Steinem. Oprah Winfrey. Sen. John Warner. Denzel Washington.
Sandra Day O'Connor. Jimmy Stewart. Desmond Tutu. And Vanna White.
The most personal response came from romance diva Danielle Steel, who cranked out a five-page letter on an old-fashioned typewriter. Steel spoke of her own children and told Rachel to stand by her family.
```Other stuff' fades away," she said. "Friends are important, but sometimes they change and move on. The people who mean a lot to you now may not mean as much later, but your family is the greatest gift you have."
With her letter, Steel enclosed a signed copy of her best seller, "Accident," but the gift came with a caveat. If your parents don't approve, wait until you are 18 to read this, the author warned.
As Rachel took one letter after another out of her bulging blue scrapbook, she said the number of responses surprised her. "I thought I might get letters from just a few people. I never thought I'd get this many back."
She peeled away six pages of protective plastic and looked over the longest letter. It was from Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the Washington Redskins. "My dad suggested him," she said. "Look how much he wrote."
Cooke drew upon inspirational quotations from other famous people to assemble a list of advice. "I cannot come up with an easy, simple recipe for success, since I believe there's no sure-fire method of reaching the top," he said. "But I do believe humanity is divided into three parts: those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who don't know what's happening."
In the Chandler household, the letter-writing project has evolved into a father-daughter partnership. Rachel and her dad, Michael Chandler, spent hours together in the local library, researching celebrities and compiling a mailing list. The original list of 25 names grew to 50, then 100, then 150 celebrities.
"I think it was as much fun for Michael as for Rachel," said RoJane Chandler, Rachel's mother. "He'd call me at work, all excited, to say Rachel got another letter today."
From time to time, Rachel adds to her list and sends out more letters. After she gets another 50 responses, she plans to share her scrapbook with her class at Woodrow Wilson Middle School.
"The whole thing is fantastic," said Ronald Jordan, Rachel's math and science teacher. "For a young person to write - not just to people in Roanoke, but to people across the world - that shows initiative."
Jordan said he also was impressed that the celebrities wrote back. "These people took the time to write a little girl in Roanoke, Virginia. That's magnificent."
by CNB