Melissa's Story
Melissa Jacobs made the world a better place every single day of her too-short life. She made the lives of everyone who knew her better.
Pancreatic cancer may have taken her away from us in the physical sense, but her spirit is still with us. We now want to honor that spirit with Over Mel's Rainbow.
Other than her family and her friends, Melissa had two other great loves: The Wizard of Oz and Odyssey of the Mind.
Ever year, the World Final competition was a highlight of her year. To see her with the children who had come from all over the world to compete in creative problem-solving was to see how amazing she truly was. She helped children who were nervous to relax, communicated with children who didn't speak English through the wonders of music and dance, and just made everyone she encountered happy to have met her, even for just a moment.
We want to honor Melissa's beautiful spirit while also celebrating her love of Odyssey of the Mind.
Here's where you come in: perform a random act of kindness in Melissa's memory.
Pay it forward while thinking of her beautiful smile.
Each time you do, tell us about it. Tell us what you did; we'll post your act, but not your name (that keeps it random). For each act you tell us about, we will add a "brick" to Melissa's Yellow Brick Road.
From Melissa's home in South Dakota to Ames, Iowa (the location of the 2016 Odyssey of the Mind World Finals), is 268 miles. We are looking for 268 acts of kindness to build a 268-mile long Yellow Brick Road so that Melissa can still get to the Odyssey World Finals next year. So tell us about your act of kindness then come back here to see your brick added to her Road. And certainly, every time you see a rainbow, think of Mel.
