Three of the girls had never met little Nicole, but it hardly mattered.
When Kaitlin Waters, an eighth grader at Clarkston Junior High, told her friends about the leukemia making her young cousin sick, they all wanted to help.
‘Katie always goes above and beyond to help others,? said Shelly Burton, mother of 4-year-old Nicole’or ‘Colie?’Burton, who was recently diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. ‘As soon as she heard about Nicole she said ‘I want to do something.??
And do something she did; in just over a month, the four 13-year-old girls, friends since they attended Andersonville Elementary together, raised $2,000 for Nicole and her family.
The girls used purple tulle, a mesh-like fabric in Nicole’s favorite color, to make packets of Hershey’s Kisses, complete with label and bow, and sold each for $1 at craft shows and outside Clarkston businesses.
They called the project ‘Kisses for Colie.?
‘It gives me chills to think of how much time they’ve donated to helping us,? said Burton, an Oxford resident and 1989 Lake Orion High School graduate. ‘To be that giving at that age says a lot for those girls. I can’t wait to thank them and give them a hug.?
The family is planning a dinner-dance fundraiser for Saturday, Nov. 8, where the girls will present Burton and her husband Jim with the money they’ve earned. The bills, after all, are piling up, and most of Shelly’s time and energy these days is funneled into her daughter’s health.
While Jim continues to work, Shelly is charged with frequent trips to the hospital, passing medications, keeping the environment as sterile as possible, and monitoring Nicole’s blood sugar’the steroids she must take cause a diabetic reaction in her small body.
‘It’s a whole new life,? Burton said. ‘That’s the only way I can put it. This is just our new life.?
But she does what she must to get Nicole through the treatments and the side effects, which, she says, includes keeping her own feelings in check.
‘Like when her hair started falling out,? she said. ‘How do you get handfuls of hair when you wash your four-year-old’s head, and not show any emotion??
Somehow, she manages, and when it all gets to be too much, she goes outside and cries.
So as Kaitlin and her friends worked on Kisses for Colie and got updates on Nicole’s treatment, they became more determined to help.
‘She’s so young and we felt really bad,? said Seneca Moore. ‘We wanted to help out in some way. Lots of people are sick, but when it happens to someone close to you, it hits you hard.?
The first day out, the girls had a modest goal.
‘We were hoping for a hundred dollars,? she said. ‘But everyone was so generous. When we got back, we had all the money in a pile in front of us and we were like ‘wow, this is crazy.? It just shows if you believe in something it can really happen.?
The success, and the cause, motivated the girls to keep going, and all agreed they took away some unexpected insight.
‘It started out as a little drive at school, and turned into a lot more,? said Clare Barkey. ‘It was so touching to hear about other people who knew what it was like. It’s hard enough that the parents have to worry about their child being sick, but they also have to worry about money.?
Kaitlin agreed.
‘I feel like we really made a difference,? she said. ‘It wasn’t just $30 or $50. It’s enough to make a really good dent. One lady came up and said ‘my husband just lost his job, so I can only give you $3,? It was so nice because even though she couldn’t give much she still wanted to help.?
And she wasn’t the only one. Lots of people saw the girls? compelling display, complete with photos of Nicole, and wanted to help.
‘Another lady gave us $50 and said how her husband was going to France for a bone-marrow transplant,? said Molly Jeffers. ‘But he was to weak to make the trip, and passed away.?
Kaitlin’s mom, Julie Waters, who said all the girls are ‘like daughters? to her, supported the endeavor, and took care of details like coordinating schedules, driving, craft show-arranging, all all-night ‘Kisses for Colie? projects.
‘They made hundreds and hundreds,? she said. ‘Many nights, it was homework, kisses and bed.?
But, she said, it was worth all the effort.
‘They’re very famous for making big plans,? said Waters. ‘I was surprised at the excitement and fever for doing this project. Not only am I proud of them, they’re proud of themselves.?
Nicole’s family will hold a dinner/dance benefit Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Metamora Lions Club in Metamora Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner is served at 7 p.m. Ages 13 and up are welcome. For more information, call Nicole’s grandma, Sharon Lang, at 248-628-0777 or email lang.sharon@sbcglobal.net.
Donations to help the family can be made payable to Sharon Lang and sent to 3368 Dartmouth Road, Oxford MI, 48371.