One night I woke and I couldn't sleep (it was about 1 am or so) so I turned on the TV. And the only thing on was this show on PBS called Lion In The House. It was a documentary about these kids with cancer. I ended up watching this show, sobbing, until about 3 am. I was so tired but I had to keep watching to find out what happened to these kids. But I eventually fell asleep. And this one girl in particular was just always on my mind I couldn't stop thinking about her. So the next few days I had to know what happened. Was she alive or did she die? One night I couldn't sleep again because I couldn't stop thinking about this little girl. I decided I had to know and looked it up online. That is when I found out she had passed away. I sobbed. This girl I didn't even know had such a huge impact on me. The next day I knew I wanted to something to help sick children in anyway I could. So I looked up volunteering in Portland and I found HandsOnPortland.org. It was perfect for me because I found the "Love Letters At Lunchtime" event. This project makes cards for chronically ill children. I love doing it because even though I can't do much I still can make them smile with these little cards.

- Samantha Thomas