WPEC-TV – Kayla Cares 4 Kids Helping to Boost the Morale of Young Patients Across the Country
April 29, 2018 5:23 pm
WEST PALM BEACH — The sport of bowling has rarely felt more important than it was at Revolutions at City Place on Sunday. The ‘Kayla Cares 4 Kids Bowl-a-Thon’ was helping to raise money for a charity that has grown by incredible leaps and bounds since it started five years ago.
16 year old Kayla Abramowitz founded the charity when she was just 11 years, and has since distributed over 16-thousand DVD donations, along with books and video game sets to every Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House in the country, adding up to over 450 medical facilities overall. Pretty amazing for a kid who’s original plan was to collect 100 DVD to help keep the young patients’ spirits up at the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
Kayla is battling Crohn’s Disease, Juvenile Arthritis and Eosinophilic Colitis, which are all autoimmune diseases, while her brother Ethan also has Juvenile Arthritis, and Eosinophilic Esophagitis, a swallowing disorder. Their many hospital stays, and family trips to visit specialists, helped her to realize how much of a need their is for ‘Kayla Cares 4 Kids’. She has 13 ambassadors in different states who help to gather donations in their area. She’s also recruited local schools to help organize ‘Kayla Cares 4 Kids’ storage units.
“I’ve been in the hospital myself, so I know exactly what it’s like to be bored,” explains Kayla. “By being bored you focus on your illnesses, and you get really sad. So by getting these books, DVDs and games, you’re getting your mind off the disease, while having fun and getting better.”
Kayla is this year’s Florida Youth Volunteer of the Year. She’s won six national awards, including the National Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
To make a tax deductible donation, visit kaylacares4kids.org.
By John Evenson