Big, beautiful bouquets to Lauren Mostardi, who is celebrating two major milestones: beating cancer and completing her master’s degree in history, with honors, at the University of Akron.Today is graduation day for Mostardi, who was diagnosed in 2009 with a rare form of leukemia. She was 22.She underwent aggressive chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants during her long road to recovery, which included a couple of remissions, recurrences and withdrawals from her classes. Yet she made it through, all the while working as a graduate assistant.Mostardi graduated from Akron’s Firestone High School in 2004 as one of the valedictorians, carrying a 4.0 GPA. She also graduated from UA summa cum laude in spring 2008 with a dual major in sociology and history. She will teach humanities in the spring at UA.Eye specialist neededIt’s Christmastime and all one local woman wants is for her dear friend to have his wish come true.“My friend’s husband, who is 75, is a paraplegic and has been confined to a bed for 10 years,” Caren Young wrote. “He is unable to leave his home. His wife is his sole caretaker.“He loves to read but his eyesight has changed over the years. He’s an avid reader but does not see as well as he might with an updated prescription. We did find one source that has a portable unit but will only go to nursing homes.“It amazes me how upbeat this couple — Don and Lynne Paxton of Stow — is. His only wish is to have his eyes examined. Can you help?”Here’s hoping I’ll get an ophthalmologist or optometrist to see his or her way to help.Free bags for cleanupPaula P. Davis, president and chief executive of Keep Akron Beautiful, had a quick response to Wednesday’s column about Marvin Grether, who has Tourette’s syndrome. He regularly picks up litter as he walks the neighborhood and a few of the Metro Parks, accompanied by two caregivers.“We have volunteers like this all over the city who pick up while they are taking their daily walks in their neighborhoods or in city parks. Keep Akron Beautiful would like to offer them free trash bags if they would like to come to our office at 850 E. Market St. to pick them up.“People are always wondering how they can make a difference; well, this is a perfect, easy example of how we can each take care of our corner of the world!”Send a cardShirley Jones, formerly of Akron and now of Las Vegas, called to sing high praises, and deservedly so, on behalf of her sister and mother.“My sister, Valerie, 54, is my hero, ” Jones said. “She has Down syndrome but she has accomplished a lot. She was one of the first children with Down syndrome in this area to attend Akron Public Schools’ kindergarten. She went to Robinson for a half year … Our mother, Maxine Williams, who was divorced, had many battles, but she always fought to get the best for Valerie. She still does.“Valerie, who never learned to write and has a speech impediment, attended Weaver School and Workshop, learned to catch the bus. She was independent in many ways. She was often the one chosen for the United Disabilities posters and to speak at different events. She even chose a church to attend that was different from the family’s.”During the time Maxine was educating Valerie, she went back to school and became a licensed practical nurse. Her goal, which she achieved, was to get her family out of the projects.Life hasn’t been easy for either her sister or her mother, Jones said. Yet they never complained. They just kept getting up when they were knocked down.“When Valerie was a young child, I remember people moving to the other side of the street with the children, acting like what Valerie had was contagious,” Jones lamented.Sadly, there were far worse situations to overcome. “Valerie was sexually abused several times,” Jones said, her voice trailing off. “I think they [the predators] thought she wouldn’t be able to talk, to tell who did it. But she did.”Today, Valerie Williams is battling for her life, diagnosed with endocarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart chambers and valves. Her condition seems to be resistant to antibiotics.Interested in sending her a colorful card to make her day? Please mail to Valerie Williams, The Arbors of Fairlawn, 575 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road, Fairlawn, OH 44333.“Because of Valerie, all that she’s been through, her unconditional love and what she means to my family, every time I see parents with children with Down syndrome I always stop and talk with them,” Valerie’s very proud sister added.Students sell ornamentsA big holiday salute to the entrepreneurial fifth-grade students at Akron’s Portage Path Community Learning Center, who last year formed a company to sell Christmas ornaments made exclusively for their company by Akron artist Don Drumm.Because their efforts proved to be successful financially and as a stimulus for learning, they’re doing it again through the holiday. The two fifth-grade classes, with teachers Karen Grindall and John Bennett, are in charge. First-graders, led by their teacher Tracy Walker, are taking care of wrapping.“The purpose of the project is for the fifth-graders to learn the economics of creating and working to make a company profitable,” Grindall said. “And the first-graders are learning the economic principle of the assembly line. The company — Portage Path Pride — is solely run by the students.“The profit will pay for the transportation for the three classes to travel to the national park for study in the early and late spring.”The two ornaments sell for $15 each and reflect the school’s personality. One is an American Indian (the school’s mascot) and the other is a beaver, honoring the hours students spend at the park’s Beaver Marsh conducting scientific investigations.“The children have company officers, artists to design posters, bookkeepers, PR persons, tail turners for the beaver tail, wrappers, business card makers and a host of other jobs making it a collaborative affair,” Grindall noted.“Last year’s profits were spent on 30 outdoor cushions for our reading patios and containers so students can read outdoors in the spring and fall.”For information about the project or to purchase an ornament, please call 330-761-2795. The school is at 55 S. Portage Path.Holiday donationsMajor kudos to the 34 members of Torchbearers, a young professional leadership development and service organization, who collected and donated 15 bags of winter coats, clothes and toiletries for Haven of Rest Ministries, and new toys, sporting goods, board games and cosmetics appropriate for children 10 and older for the Victim Assistance Program in time for the holidays.Gift to nursing homesAkron’s ManorCare Nursing Home will receive more than 50 miniature rocking chairs fashioned by Akron’s Ted Williams and decorated by his wife, Karen.I included the couple’s search to find a nursing home for their special Christmas gift in an earlier column.Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or emailed at jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.