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I visit this website all the time—checking for new stories and memories, and sometimes just to reread others that I’ve seen so many times. Somehow, it allows me to connect with Kara and her family—to be reminded of the many people in whose hearts and memories Kara is still so very much alive. I am so grateful to everyone who has shared so much, allowing me to learn more about a dear friend—to laugh at memories from Trinity and Camp and Brooklyn—to feel as if I were there with her, and to continue learning about a person with whom I’d spent a large part of my first eighteen years of life. After the initial pain of Kara’s loss had subsided, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to keep Kara alive enough in my memory. Striking a balance between moving on with my life, while still allowing sufficient time and emotional energy to remember her has been somewhat of a challenge. After talking to some friends from high school this summer about what we could do to keep Kara’s legacy with each of us in the years to come, we asked the Hoods if it would be okay to set up a scholarship in Kara’s memory at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, her alma mater. For many high school friends who hadn’t seen Kara in several years, or who couldn’t make it back for her funeral, I thought it would be a way for them to reconnect with memories of Kara, and to point to something tangible that will forever exist in her honor—in a place which is familiar to so many of us. After trying to track down friends and classmates at JDHS, we sent out a mailing in early November to let people know about what we’d established, the Kara Hood Memorial Scholarship. With the generosity of so many members of our community and the support and generosity of the Hood family, we have established a permanently endowed scholarship at JDHS. The first award will be granted this Spring to “the graduating female student involved in athletics or other school and community activities, who most closely models the spirit and characteristics of Kara Hood. The recipient respects her peers, her teachers and her coaches, contributes with a healthy spirit of competition, plays with complete selflessness and courage, and puts her heart into all she does. In doing so, she inspires and encourages others to be the very best they can be.” I can so clearly remember Kara on the soccer field, silently leading our team. It wasn’t just because she was our team’s Captain, but rather because of the respect and confidence she engendered in each one of us, that made me look to her as a leader. When, in my Senior year of high school, I finally scored my first goal in a Sectional semi-final, it is Kara’s face I can remember as she ran toward me—screaming and cheering and jumping as if she herself had scored that goal. I truly believe she was happier and more excited than I was that day—as if she wanted that goal for me. She led and guided with a grace that was so natural, so unassuming, and so genuine, that you couldn’t help but be taken in by her presence. She made me want to be a better soccer player, to be a better person. It is with memories such as these that we created a scholarship—to recognize that graduating student each year who makes others want to be better at whatever it is they love to do—for its own sake, and not for the reward or recognition that comes with it. I am so grateful for Kara’s friendship, and for the example she set for all of us. I hope that the recipient of the Kara Hood Memorial Scholarship each year will learn more about Kara, and help each of us keep her memory and her spirit alive. Our initial goal was to fund the scholarship before March 20, 2002 to mark Kara’s 25th birthday. If you would like to contribute to her scholarship, donations can be sent to The Central New York Community Foundation, c/o Lisa Moore, 500 S. Salina Street, Suite 428, Syracuse, NY 13202, made payable to the Kara Hood Memorial Scholarship. Because the scholarship is permanently endowed, contributions can be made at any point now or in the future. I would like to let the Hood family know how grateful I am to them for sharing themselves and their hearts as each of us has struggled to come to terms with losing Kara. By continuing to welcome each of us into their home and their lives, they have allowed us to more openly and more comfortably grieve and remember our friend. I am constantly amazed at their thoughtfulness and strength, and I hope they take comfort in the love and memories each of us will always hold. I miss Kara so much every day, but I know she will remain alive in my heart, forever. With love, Danielle
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