Standing Ovation for 13-year-old at Hospice Breakfast

The 24th Annual Regional Hospice Breakfast was held this morning at The Waterview in Monroe. President Cynthia Roy Squitieri presented Newtown's Ryan Patrick with the first annual Youth Leadership Award. Ryan's pictured here with his puppy, Milo.

The crowd of 360 fans gave the 13-year-old a standing ovation. You see, the 7th grader raised $24,000 for Healing Hearts, the children's bereavement center, by selling blue and gold bracelets that say, "We R One—Newtown Dec. 14."

In her elegant speech, Cynthia thanked many, including Marg Studley and Marie Sturdevant, who co-chaired the event.

In two weeks, Regional Hospice will break ground for a 30,000 square foot facility in Danbury, complete with 12 balconied residential suites for the terminally ill. Healing Hearts will move there, too.

Congratulations to Hospice and to Ryan for their extraordinary efforts to make the world a better place.