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WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) — When Leah Kozoidek, 13, of Hampstead, first heard about the pain associated with childhood cancers, she said she instantly felt a calling to do something to help those in need.
Leah is working to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which works to find cures and preventive tools for childhood diseases and cancers. Her mother, Mandy, said she was surprised when Leah first came to her with the idea to sell ribbons in support of cancer survivors.
"She has cerebral palsy, so you'd think she'd do something to help out those with cerebral palsy," Mandy said. "Something has always grabbed her about kids with cancer though. She's always wanted to help them out. I guess she has a big heart."
Leah said she first heard about St. Jude while listening to the radio. There was a commercial that featured the stories of several children battling several forms of childhood cancers. She said something about their stories touched her and made her want to help in any way she could.
"I was hearing about how old they were when they died or how hard they had to fight," Leah said. "It was so sad — I knew I had to do something to help."
Leah asked her mother to donate to help out the children.
"She started crying because I only gave her 10 dollars," Mandy said. "She started asking everyone in the family to send money to St. Jude."
In order to be able to send money herself, Leah began putting together ribbons in honor of those with different forms of cancer. She began with supplies for pink and blue ribbons for breast and prostate cancer and began selling these tokens at school for $2 a ribbon. Soon she expanded her work to include ribbons for brain cancer, pancreatic cancer and leukemia and took her salesmanship out into the community.
In just two weeks, she managed to take orders for more than 130 ribbons from people throughout Hampstead, raising more than $250.
Now that the orders have been placed, it's up to Leah to complete all of the ribbons. She said every day she works for at least an hour on the ribbons after she gets home from school, and in that time she can usually make between five or 10 finished ribbons. Each ribbon must be cut off of a longer strand, then hot-glued in place. Some of the ribbons then receive a small jewel hot-glued on the top for a little extra bling, Leah said.
The Kozoidek family is no stranger to the pain of cancer, with bone cancer taking the life of Leah's grandmother. To honor her, Leah said she's planning on putting together a specialty bow to place on her grave. In addition, her sister works as a nurse in the University of Maryland Cancer Network. Leah said she's planning on visiting her sister at work as well as the children there who have cancer.
Though the St. Jude fundraising drive was scheduled simply for the holiday season, Leah said she plans on making and selling ribbons for as long as she can, so that she can consistently donate to the organization.
Leah said she wasn't normally much of a crafter, but the ability to help others out with just a little bit of hard work was worth the effort. The whole family has gotten involved in Leah's project, with her brother and mother running out for new supplies when the ribbons wheels start to get low, to her grandfather's helping spread word out among the community. She said it's been fun for all of them to work together.
"It's really getting bigger than we thought it would," Leah said. "But that's kind of what's neat about the whole thing."
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Information from: Carroll County Times of Westminster, Md., http://www.carrollcounty.com/
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