By Denise Smith Amos
The Cincinnati Enquirer

TALL STACKS GUIDE

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AVONDALE - Thanks to some last-minute help, 14 special-needs children from South Avondale Elementary will join the estimated 20,000 students cruising Tall Stacks boats this week.

For more than five weeks, the disabled youngsters - whose challenges prevent them from attending mainstream classes - have soaked up lessons about Tall Stacks.

They attended presentations about steamboats and the pioneering river life at the downtown public library. Their teacher, Jane Ackerman, incorporated Tall Stacks into everything from English to math.

But the ultimate teachable moment was to have been a cruise, said Karen Adeniyi, the instructional assistant for the class. She booked reservations for the group and five weeks ago applied to Meijer Inc. for a community donation to pay the $12-a-ticket cost.

Store employees told her she'd hear back in three weeks and assured her it was typical of donations that Meijer makes.

But on Monday, Adeniyi learned funding hadn't been approved because the application was lost.

Meijer's Grand Rapids, Mich., headquarters had laid off 350 workers in early September, including the people who handle donations, said a company spokesman.

Adeniyi and Ackerman scrambled, calling Tall Stacks and other potential donors. They asked parents, but the children are from low-income homes. There was little hope or time for fund-raising, Ackerman said.

But Tuesday afternoon, a "longtime supporter" of Tall Stacks stepped in and bought tickets for the class, said Karen Bender, marketing director of Tall Stacks. The supporter wants to be anonymous.

In addition, Meijer committed to help defray costs and supply lunch.

Thanks to their generosity, the students will board the Celebration Belle on Thursday, Ackerman said. Then they'll write letters, summaries and stories for class.

"This is a lifetime event for these children," she said. "It's going to be the living end."

E-mail damos@enquirer.com