Mayor Harvey Hall is proclaiming July 9th Wendy Wayne Day. Wayne was a long-time children's advocate who died last month after a long battle with cancer. To honor Wayne, some local students are asking you to pay it forward with acts of kindness in Wayne's honor.
Humanitarian, civil servant, and beloved children's advocate, Wendy Wayne made a huge impact of the lives she touched. Wayne's far reach into the community was evident with hundreds of people packing the Fox Theater in downtown Bakersfield Saturday for her memorial service.
To honor Wayne, Mayor Harvey Hall is proclaiming July 9th Wendy Wayne Day.
"I'm happy to be in a position to offer a proclamation that will recognize all the wonderful things that Wendy did, and how she set her legacy of family," said Mayor Hall.
Tuesday, you can carry on her legacy with acts of kindness.
"We came up with this Pay It Forward idea where people can do something small but something special for the community and put the community in front of their own needs, just like what Wendy always did," said organizer Isabella Busacca.
A group of Liberty High School students, called the Dream Catchers, want people to come to Jastro Park at 10 a.m. to pick up a strip of paper. Each one has a good deed written on it to do for someone else.
"We're hanging up all these streams of wishes of nice deeds that people can do and they can come and take down a deed. It might be simple as pay for the person's Starbucks in the line behind you or volunteer at a soup kitchen. It's all these little deeds for people to fulfill in honor and memory of Wendy," said Busacca.
Wayne wore many hats during her life in Bakersfield. She was a registered nurse, a Peace Corps volunteer in east Africa, and she held positions on countless non-profit and community boards. Wayne was being treated for non-Hodgkins lymphoma which took her life after a four-year battle.
"Every person in this community that worked with Wendy was family," said Mayor Hall. "She reached out to so many people and children and groups in our community. It's only appropriate that we honor her."
