Timberwood - Short Stories Edition: Vol. 19
Delcia (Pronounced DELL-shuh) Kemp, one of the activity coordinators, thought up an idea to do a charity fundraiser to raise money for this coming summer's big trip for the children's summer camp. Also, this fundraiser was used to help recruit more Timberwood cult members. (Outsiders don't know that, though.) Delcia was trying to do a 5K Run/Walk, under the guise of "helping" to keep children out of trouble & "improve 'bad' behavior". More like another mind control brainwashing program, geared mainly towards the children.
The teenagers were used to go put up flyers around St. Louis & Kansas City, Missouri & also the surrounding suburbs of both cities. They even received monetary, water & food donations, while putting up the flyers. The money was later "confiscated" from the teens. The were allowed to keep the food & water, though.
Some inside critics got "reprimanded" for questioning why Timberwood felt the need to fundraise, if the "organization" is so filthy rich. & they felt like it was so greedy of the cult to take the money away from the children. They also raised concerns about this being another child exploitation opportunity. They even feel like, the annual summer camps, themselves are opportunities for the child exploitation & human trafficking. They felt like it wasn't right, & they wanted to leave the cult. Timberwood carried on, anyway.
Timberwood was supposed to host the fundraiser for 2 Saturdays. The first Saturday in Kansas City, & the 2nd Saturday in downtown St. Louis. People of all ages from anywhere inside or outside of the community were welcome to join. Some people were dedicated enough to fly all the way from other countries to participate. No prior registration needed. Some of the teens were used to sit at several booths, at every mile, with a large barrel-sized, lined garbage can. The garbage can, lined with big black trash bags, were decorated with Timberwood colors & the mascot/logo. On each container, a BIG sign, using Timberwood colors (the same as LSU & Los Angeles Lakers colors) said, "TIP JAR", in big letters. Lots of money was donated.
Also, some shirts, hoodies, shorts, sweat suit outfits, coffee mugs, water bottles, canvas backpacks, pens, pencils, etc. were for sale. All of the work was being done by the youth. You could walk, run, skip, jog, ride your bike, ride your regular or electric scooter, skate, skateboard, ride in a wheelchair or power chair, etc.
Dolores Lopez & Natalie Washington hung out together the first week in Kansas City. They wanted to race, like it was a track meet or something. The fundraiser started at 7 AM & then ended at 1 PM. Food & drinks from Panera Bread, McDonald's & Krispy Kreme were donated, as well as Hy-Vee & Trader Joe's.
"Girl, are you ready?", asked Natalie.
"Readier than anyone else out here!", Dolores replied.
Teresa Price chimed in & said, "Let's hit it!"
The whistle blew, & everyone began. Some folks came in late. Carla King-Aucoin started laughing because some people started rushing, tripping & falling already. She wondered why people were taking the fundraiser as a competition or a race. She was like, "Come on! It's not that serious." She was strutting in a black & blue sit-down walker, so that she could occasionally rest. All she could do was to walk at her own pace, periodically taking breaks.
Some of the children even were racing & running. You can hear some of the toddlers saying, "Mommy. Can you race with me?", or "Daddy! I bet you can't beat MEEEEE!"
Some of the teens got in trouble because they got caught, gossipping & laughing at elderly people jogging. Making fun of old people! They were put into timeout, & some of them were snitching out their friends who didn't get caught. Some of the grown folks were doing the same thing, but they didn't get punished.
Some of the younger & older adults outside of Timberwood, who were already doing their own personal routine jogging, joined & blended in. Sadly, some (not all of them) got suckered in & recruited to join the cult.
With Timberwood, there's almost always distraction, drama & disaster. So, what happened? Week 2 in St. Louis got cancelled because some of the children got arrested for stealing some of the donation money for themselves. Some of the parents were angry because they didn't want Timberwood disciplining & chastising their children. They wanted to do it, themselves. Timberwood's top cult members said, "Well good! Use your own money to bail your children out!" That didn't sit well with the parents.
Ronald Bailey was very angry & said that at least SOMEBODY had to revolt & take a stand. The children got tired of being exploited, deprived & abused.
The children's parents planned to rally & protest in downtown St. Louis, on what was supposed to be the 2nd fundraiser week. Timberwood made sure to have it shut down. They even got in the National Guard with police in riot gear to attack, bully & arrest anyone who was trying to protest. You would've thought it was the start of a war!
THE END