Cloverdale man starts ‘1,000 Letters for Michael’ campaign

When Cloverdale’s Brian Sumpter heard the story of a special needs student athlete named Michael Kelley, his first thought was, “This is ridiculous, and I am not standing for it.”

Kelley is the Down syndrome student at Wichita East High School in Kansas whose principal told him he was not entitled to wear a school letter on his letterman jacket because he had not played a varsity sport.

“I can’t get Michael a letter to his own high school, but I can get him letters from other high schools and make sure he gets them all,” said Sumpter.

Sumpter, who is the sports editor at the Lake County Record-Bee, started calling on high school coaches and athletic directors for help. That was the beginning of “1,000 Block Letters for Michael,” a campaign Sumpter hopes will catch fire, not only in California, but at high schools around the country.

“I really want to get the word out to as many people as possible.”

So far, he has gotten a favorable response from a number of local high schools, including Cloverdale. He has even been offered block letters from overseas schools.

“I’ll collect them all and then make a mass mailing to Wichita at a future date. Let’s send this kid 1,000 letters,” he said.

Varsity block letters can be mailed to Sumpter at the Lake County Record-Bee, 2150 S. Main St., Lakeport, CA 95453. For more information, call 263-5636.

Contact Cloverdale Towns Correspondent Mary Jo Winter at Cloverdale.Towns@gmail.com.