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Charlene Butolph lives in Springfield, Oregon, and has two daughters, Amber, age 19 and Cassandra, age 16. Amber is a survivor of the Thurston High School Shooting. She has worked with disabled adults in a vocational setting since 1984, and currently works as a site supervisor for community job placements, a position she has held since 1996. She is also a member of the Family Development Council serving the cities of Eugene and Springfield, OR, as a concerned parent and serves as a member of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grant Mental Health Team. This was a Federal Grant awarded to the schools in their area, as well as other communities nationwide to help everyone in the community work together to make their schools a safer place. There are four different committees, as well as an Executive Committee: Turn Around School, Crime Prevention Specialist Team, Effective Behavior Support Team and the Health Clinic/Mental Health Team. Charlene says, "The more I sit on the committee the more I learn about our community." Since June 1998 she has been a volunteer with the Ribbon of Promise, an organization created after the Thurston High School Shooting with the objective of ending School Violence. Charlene is only one of ROP’s most active members and often fills in when and where needed as well as being ROP's Social Services Coordinator. Charlene has spoke in Salem at State Hearings concerning Mental Health care for children and parent involvement. She attended and spoke at Safe Start 2000 in Fullerton, sponsored by Hyundai Motor America, California State University, and the Ontario, CA Police Dept. Charlene was outside Thurston High as the shooting unfolded, not knowing for three hours whether or not Amber was alive. As she prayed, Charlene promised God that she would forever be thankful if her daughter was spared and would make it her life’s work to spare other parents the agony of losing a child. She promised that she would do whatever it took to see no more parents had to stand outside of a school and go through this terror. In working with families, Charlene is honoring that promise. Charlene has the responsibility of contacting families for the Gathering and keeping all of you informed. You won’t find a more compassionate person or a better friend.
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