Saturday fundraiser to honor child's memory with Levi's Adventure Trail

Bring a trash bag, some friends and pick up a treasure map for Levi's Seek, Snap, Treasure and Trash Adventure on Saturday to raise money for the child-friendly nature exhibit, Levi's Adventure Trail, which will be featured at Discovery Playhouse in Cape Girardeau.

The fundraiser and the exhibit were created in honor of 3-year-old Levi Collum, who died March 18, 2012, from Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, which is the unexpected death of a child past the age of 12 months that remains unexplained even after thorough investigation.

"After you experience a tragedy like this, you can just stop and stay at home, or go out and do something with a purpose," Viney Mosley, Levi's grandmother, said.

It was Mosley who proposed the idea of creating Levi's Adventure Trail. Some of her best memories include taking her grandson to Discovery Playhouse, she said, so creating a tribute there in his name "seemed fitting."

"Levi loved to be outside and camp and go to the river," Mosley said. "We wanted to do this adventure trail to make other children love nature as much as he did."

Mosley and her daughter, Ellen Collum, Levi's mother, established an account to begin raising money for Levi's Adventure Trail. They quickly were overwhelmed with requests to help the family achieve its goal. In one week, Mosley said, they had received $10,000.

"Levi's Adventure Trail has turned into so much more than a playground," Ellen Collum said in an email. "It's a message of faith for others."

For this event, teams of volunteers will follow a treasure map and use written clues to find items or people throughout downtown Cape Girardeau and snap a picture of them, while picking up any litter they find along the way.

"We wanted to create a signature event that focuses on community service and bringing families together," Mosley said. "We think it's important to focus on spending time with your family because you just never know what's going to happen tomorrow."

Two treasure maps have been designed. One features treasures along Broadway that are easy enough for the children themselves to find. The other map covers more of the downtown area and includes more difficult clues to find treasures.

Before the adventure begins, volunteers are invited to meet behind Discovery Playhouse to pick up trash on or around the area where Levi's Adventure Trail will be built. As part of its community service outreach, Starbucks has agreed to sponsor the event and will give a donation for each person that registers and attends the clean up.

Mosley said the response from businesses and individuals within the community has been truly "heartfelt and reassuring."

"We've had people donate hours into this project," she said. "I can't imagine where it would be without all their help."

The morning cleanup will be at 9 a.m. Saturday behind Discovery Playhouse. Volunteers at 1 p.m. will meet in the front for Levi's Seek, Snap, Treasure and Trash Adventure.

For a registration fee of $25, volunteers also will receive a T-shirt, or a Levi's Adventure Trail bracelet for children under the age of 5. To register for the cleanup event sponsored by Starbucks, visit community.starbucks.com/groups/levis-seek-snap-treasure-trash-adventure.

To register for the adventure scavenger hunt, email Mosley at vmosley@hi-techcom.com or call 450-9415.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

502 Broadway St., Cape Girardeau, MO