Sister Helps Brother, Patients through Giving Hope

For more than six years, Ava has been helping sick kids, like her brother Alex, by donating proceeds from a drink stand to Cincinnati Children’s. 

In all, Ava has donated more than $3,600 to Cincinnati Children’s, supporting both our Child Life program and Reading and Literacy Discovery Center (RLDC). Our Child Life department buys toys for kids in the hospital, while RLDC is a developing program to help kids who struggle with reading.

Her brother, who is treated in our nephrology and urology departments, is her inspiration in helping others. She said she hates to see him in the hospital, and wants to make sure when he’s there that he and all the other kids have a way to pass the time. 

“My brother really likes toys,” Ava says. “When he’s in the hospital, he really likes to have something to do and play with.” 

The last two years, Ava was especially successful because she was able to use new fundraising tools provided by the Giving Hope program. She used our online fundraising website that allowed her donors to give money directly to the medical center online using credit cards, a Giving Hope banner to help advertise her “Kool-Aid 4 Kidneys” stand and a Giving Hope change canister to help her hold donations. 

“A lot of people come to my stand,” Ava says. “Sometimes I get people who give a lot of money – like $100 – when they find out that I’m raising money for Cincinnati Children’s. And using the Giving Hope tools helped me raise even more money this year.” 

Ava plans to continue to support her brother and Cincinnati Children’s next year with another drink stand and another Giving Hope fundraising webpage, and she says she’s going to encourage her friends to host Giving Hope events, too. 

“I think everyone should help out,” Ava says. “It can help a lot of kids.”