Author Garth Callaghan brings holiday cheer with Star Wars party
Garth Callaghan, known nationwide as The Napkin Notes Dad, visited the Villa’s Brook Road Academy and Dooley School in full Jedi apparel with a special holiday gift to impart to students: Star Wars toys.
Why is Garth called The Napkin Notes Dad? Every day since his daughter Emma was in kindergarten, Garth wrote an inspirational note on a napkin and sent it in her lunch box. Garth has been diagnosed with cancer four times in the past three years. When he was diagnosed with cancer a third time, he was worried he may not live to see Emma graduate from high school. But he wanted to continue the napkin note tradition. So he set out to write all of the notes Emma would need to see her through to graduation, just in case. He wrote 826 napkin notes in all. Today they’re stored in a special box for safe keeping.
With the high cost of treatment and his family to think of, Garth brought himself to sell his prized collection of Star Wars memorabilia. Months later, a large box of Star Wars toys appeared on his doorstep from an anonymous donor. Rather than keep them, Garth saw himself as a steward of these toys and decided to personally give them away for Villa kids to enjoy.
Our students were thrilled – not just to see a live Jedi with a one-of-a-kind handcrafted lightsaber, but to take home the toys as souvenirs of their visit with a nationally renowned author. Garth wrote the book, Napkin Notes: Make Lunch Meaningful, Life Will Follow, and now New Line Cinema is planning to turn it into a movie. He has made several television appearances, including The Today Show and Rachel Ray. Students had an endless supply of questions for Garth, ranging from the Star Wars Universe – of which Garth has unparalleled knowledge – to his battle against cancer and journey as a writer. It was a fun and extremely inspirational visit!
