Big hearts, little donors

Generous elementary school students held a week-long coin drive to honor the bravery of a classmate battling leukemia, while an 8-year-old asked for donations to Children’s Memorial rather than gifts for her birthday. Find out more about these and other kids who are making a difference through their generosity. 

A sweet way to honor a cousin

By using their baking talents as a way to honor the memory of their beloved cousin, Elise, who lived in the Chicago area and was treated at Children’s Memorial, Ellie and Katie Deveaux found a particularly sweet way to raise money for the hospital. Through a bake sale, which they organized on the campus of the Connecticut private school where their parents are faculty members, Ellie, 12, and Katie, 10, raised $105 in support of programs at the hospital’s Janice and Kimberly Brown Family Life Center. The center is a treatment-free area where patients, siblings and other family members can play and participate in numerous activities in a fun, cheerful environment that encourages kids to be kids. The girls decided to support the center because Elise’s older brother, Sean, enjoyed the many hours he spent there during his sister’s illness. “They wanted to do something for Elise, but also something for the siblings of patients, because some of them might be having a hard time dealing with the illness of a brother or sister,” says the girls’ mom, Sara. Ellie and Katie spent several days baking cupcakes, brownies and cookies, and wrapped each item with a ribbon and a tag explaining where the proceeds were going. Their mom reports they were overjoyed by the success of the bake sale. “If you start kids thinking about giving at a young age, it gets instilled in them, and it’s something they won’t forget as they get older,” says Sara.

Students’ change adds up to make a difference

A classmate’s bravery in battling a deadly disease inspired his fellow students to dig deep into their pockets and, in some cases, their piggy banks. As a tribute to 7-year-old Sebastian Milka, who is being treated for leukemia at Children’s Memorial, elementary school students at John V. Leigh School in Norridge generously collected coins during a weeklong fundraiser they dubbed, “A little change can make a big difference.” Each day for a week, students brought in a different coin, beginning with pennies and increasing to nickels, dimes and quarters. On the final day, dollar bills were collected. By the end of the week just over $4,000 was collected to support Children’s Memorial’s hematology/oncology outpatient playroom – a quiet area that allows kids to be kids while waiting for their clinic visits, and one of Sebastian’s favorite places at the hospital. “Both the teachers and the kids were very humbled by it and amazed at how much was raised,” says Sebastian’s first grade teacher, Dawn McGowan, who adds that one of Sebastian’s particularly motivated classmates raided his piggy bank and brought in $100 in quarters. “Hopefully this is the kind of effort that will encourage kids to keep on giving as they get older.”

Tristin gets her birthday wish

For many girls, a “wish list” of presents for their 8th birthday might include dolls or tickets to a Hannah Montana concert. But for her party celebrating her second “leap birthday,” Tristin Sorrells’ request to family and friends was a bit different: instead of gifts, she asked them to bring a donation to Children’s Memorial. A total of $725 was raised for the hospital’s areas of greatest need. “Tristin and I talked about various places to donate to, and her first choice was Children’s Memorial,” says her mom, Shari. “Tristin said, ‘I want to make sure that all kids have happy birthdays.’” The family has personal experience with Children’s Memorial. When Tristin’s 12-year-old sister, Taylor, was younger, she was treated at the hospital for a kidney problem. Shari is proud of Tristin’s generosity and sense of empathy for children who are less fortunate. “Giving builds character, and it needs to start at a young age,” she says. “Getting another Barbie doll is far less important than helping others. If more children felt that way it would be a wonderful thing.” Apparently, selflessness runs in the family. Inspired by Tristin’s example, her sisters, Taylor and Sidney, 11, raised a total of $915 for the hospital at their own birthday parties.