This past weekend, the day finally came. The day we’d been looking forward to for 5 months. It was the day of Kids Helping Kids, A Night of Hope. My friends Abbie Flis and Aly Jenkins and I had been planning this event since before Christmas vacation. Since then, we’d arranged all the details that make an event like ours run smoothly. We hit many obstacles along the way, but when the day finally came, we were ready.
On Friday night, our celebrity guest arrived in Detroit. Booboo Stewart, an actor in the upcoming movie of the Twilight Saga, came to our concert to sign autographs and meet some fans – even some from far away, like Amanda Kohli. Amanda loves Twilight and Booboo. She also has brain cancer. About a week or so before the event, her mom found out about the concert and was interested in bringing the family up for the show – and to meet Amanda’s idol. We gave them a special meet and greet with Booboo; it was all that she wanted for her 16th birthday this year. It felt great to know that we made her birthday special. It also was touching because that is why we did this event, to help kids with cancers, diseases, and serious injuries in the hospital, especially at Beaumont Children’s Hospital.
We had some other special guests at the event. Meghan Gruss, the Children’s Miracle Network manager at Beaumont Hospital set up an informational table about the foundation. She also brought a very special family with her, the Shampo family. Lucas, age 6, and Olivia, age 4, were in a nearly fatal head-on car collision a few years ago along with their mother. Lucas and Olivia suffered bad neck injuries and needed “halos” to keep their neck and skull in place. Usually these injuries have lifelong effects, but the whole family was fine at the event – walking and all. Thanks to Beaumont Children’s Hospital, they were able to be treated. They were at the show as an example to how well every penny raised is spent. Lucas also got a guitar (his favorite instrument) from the band, Good Luck Varsity. When the guitarist gave Lucas his personal guitar, his face lit up. It absolutely made his day, and it made mine too.
Starting yesterday, local radio station 96.3 WDVD started their Cares for Kids Radiothon for 2010. It’s a two day long radiothon raising money for BCH. Research, sleep chairs, and specialized bikes are just the beginning of the long list of things the hospital needs, and with donations, they’re able to get those things. Abbie and I presented our check for $2,800 yesterday, live on the air. That’s enough for two parent sleep chairs and almost three specialized bikes. Everyone at the radiothon couldn’t believe that three fourteen year-old girls put together an event of this scale and raise so much money.
Doing this event made me feel like I could truly make a difference. Everyone always says that anyone can make a difference, and it’s become a pretty cliché statement, but I feel that we proved it. No matter how old you are, if you put your mind to something and try your hardest, even unlikely pipe dreams like ours can come true.
