Nearly 600 children attended Ted Muller’s memorial service in1996. And instead of flowers, mourners brought dollar bills to the28-year-old teacher’s funeral.
Family members were expecting enough for a one-time donation toa charity.
But to their surprise, they collected enough to start the TedMuller Scholarship Fund, which provides money for underprivilegedkids to attend summer camps and after-school programs.
“It’s a way to keep his life’s work going,” said Kay Muller,Ted’s mother. “If he were here today, he’d be so excited because heloved kids.”
The Ted Fund will host its annual fund- raiser event at 7:30p.m. Saturday at the Allen Center. The Latin fiesta-themed eventwill feature food from four Evanston restaurants: Pete Miller’s,Campanola, Va Pensiero and Oceanique.
The scholarship program is open to third-, fourth- andfifth-grade students from elementary schools in Evanston/SkokieSchool District 65. The scholarships allow students to attend localsummer camps — including the Ridgeville Park District camps,Evanston Recreation Department programs and the NorthwesternWildcat Camp.
Ted Muller rarely got a chance to be a kid at summer camp — theonly way he could afford to go was as a volunteer.
Kay Muller said as her son grew older, he worried that otherswere missing out on the fun, just like her son had.
“He saw so many kids who just didn’t have the opportunity mostkids have in Evanston,” said Judith Carney, a member of the TedFund board. “He thought, ‘Isn’t there some way I could help?'”
There are many underprivileged children in Evanston, Kay Mullersaid. Nearly one third of Evanston’s elementary school studentsqualify for reduced-price school lunches.
“We want their after-school program to parallel their schoolexperience,” she said. “But these are not camps for ‘poor kids’ –they’re not shuffled off somewhere.”
Kay Muller said residents and the city often disregard the needto provide opportunities for underprivileged students.
“The kids (in Evanston) don’t look poor because their parentsmake sure they have the right kind of clothes,” she said. “But it’sa hidden poverty.”
To supplement the Ted Fund summer camps and programs, HubbardOne — a Chicago-based Web company started by Northwestern alumni– supports an after-school mentoring program during the schoolyear at the Evanston YMCA, 1000 Grove St.
The fund’s accomplishments would make Ted Muller proud, saidJohn Harris, McCormick ’95 and a friend of the Muller family.
“Ted was very active — he was energetic and motivated,” Harrissaid. “He was a really tall guy who kids would look up to, but henever looked down on them.”
