Hi from jkopff

[jkopff]

When my current Pentagon appointment (as Chief of Staff of an office that manages the issue of contractors on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan) expires on July 31, I plan to become a full-time volunteer clown! My husband, Gary, and I volunteer virtually every weekend with the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening medical conditions. The organization provides entertainment, education, and family activities for seriously ill children and their families. Starlight's motto is "bringing joy to seriously ill children." We clown at various pediatric facilities and wards (e.g., NIH Children's Inn, Children's Hospital, Georgetown Hospital's pediatric ward, INOVA Fairfax's pediatric ward, etc.). A few weeks ago we were at Georgetown Hospital's pediatric oncology ward bringing smiles to about 50 children with cancer. See my blog on the Starlight website about that event: Clowning Around « bringing joy to seriously ill children

The Starlight web site also has excerpts from a multi-media presentation that I gave to the Cornell University Club of Washington as part of its Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series in December 2006. I titled my talk: "Clowns DO Cry: A Lifetime of Laughter and Tears (Tales of Vietnamese Orphans, Wounded Warriors, and Elian Gonzalez"). The web site is:
Clowning Around - Starlight Starbright Midatlantic

In late April we spent one Saturday morning clowning at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's annual Children's Festival, and then we spent the afternoon clowning on behalf of the Starlight Children’s Foundation for a couple hundred really sick kids and their families gathered for lunch and an afternoon of fun at the Shriners' Kena Temple in Fairfax. We also entertained 2,000 kids in the Pentagon Courtyard for "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" in late April.

In the past six months, we've collected several thousand VHS tapes, DVDs, music cassettes, CDs, and books on tape, along with several dozen DVD players, VHS players, boom boxes, etc. that we have donated to the patients and their families at Walter Reed and at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Several weeks ago on June 14, we were clowns at the VA Medical Center's DC hospital for their Open House - Registration for military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. On June 21 we were clowns for about 150 kids at the June Fest of HSC Pediatrics (formerly called the Hospital for Sick Children) in Northeast DC. In May and June we performed for the second year in a row at the monthly Concerts in the Park sponsored by the Citizens Association of Georgetown. We also spend every Thanksgiving and Christmas at Walter Reed and entertain wounded warriors and their families there frequently during the year.

Whew. Not enough time to make kids -- and kids-at heart -- smile....

"Clown Judy" (AKA Judy Kopff)
Washington, DC
jkopff@aol.com

[Harpoetta]

WOW!!!

Ok, first of all, Welcome to the Family!

What you and your husband do is amazing, it's great that you do it for the kids, and really cool that you also do it for our soldiers and their families.

You said you have worked with the Shriners, is your husband a Shriner? There are several Shrine clowns on this forum, my Dad being one of them (Fred Baisch).

Anyway, so glad to have you with us, I hope you'll come visit and share as often as you can!

[Fitzwilly]

Glad you foound the Forum Judy. You are very active, that is fantasstic. How long have you and you husband been clowning? How did you begin? How have you managed to squeeze so much into weekends only? What a joy to see the faces of so many children and their families reflecting your love and dedication.

[Ty-Me]

God Bless you and your hubby for what you do, And Welcome aboard.

[The_Princess_of_Bozonia]

Clown Judy, I salute you! Welcome.

[Sir Toony Van Dukes]

Wow! Sounds like you are doing some great work. When I started reading that you were going from Pentagon to full-time clown, I thought that would be a big transition, but looks like you have been fairly busy and are just making more time to clown around.

[Axe]

I'm impressed! Welcome aboard as well. Like Fitzwilly said, it's great to see someone so active and for such a great cause.

[Scruffy]

Welcome Judy! It sounds like you have a great opportunity. welcome to the forum!
Cheers,
Scruffy

[saphireSue]

Howdy and welcome to the group

[DJ the Clown]

Judy,
You are such a good out look in the clown world. I think it is so cool how many sick Kids and their familys you have made smile. I wish I could do all that you do because you are a true clown at heart. I wish you the best of luck here on the forum and I hope I can lrean a lot from you and your post or even if I just talk to you in the chat. Great work and keep it up. I know you will have a big impact on the clowns here in the forum. You already had one on me. Bump a nose,
DJ the clown