when there are footprints on the moon.” Paul Brandt
30 Bham Family March 2020
K I D S W H O S H I N E
ELLA WALLACE, 10
“Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit
T
when you meet her is the spark in her eyes
and the vibrant spirit. It’s clear she’s got plans, and
anyone who knows her will tell you those plans
most likely involve helping someone in need.
Her philanthropic mindset was evident when she
was only four years old; she told her parents they
should sell their home to give it to a homeless
stand to raise money for an organization serving
homeless people in Dallas, where she lived at
the time. “It gives me a feeling that I really like
whenever I help others,” Ella says.
In some ways this Homewood Shades Cahaba
fourth-grader is like her peers—she loves making
up silly games with friends and her favorite
subjects are art, music, and math. But what
separates her from other students who like to
help others is her persistence and the level of
organization behind her missions. In April of
2019, Ella planned a fundraising party (and an
food for the animals at The Humane Society.
Later that year, she joined others at her school to
donate her hair to Locks of Love.
Her efforts grew as she did. Ella’s last project of
2019 was a special one. She organized a pie sale to
fund supplies and gifts for the residents of Briar
Glen Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Hoover.
She strategically chose the Thanksgiving holiday
to bake 14 peanut butter and chocolate pies for
people hosting family at the holiday. (And used her
birthday money to buy the food.) After her sale, Ella
interviewed the staff at Briar Glen to determine
what the residents’ needs were and assembled a
giant gift basket chock full of lotions, soaps, blankets
and other sundries—just in time for Christmas. “A
lot of them wouldn’t get Christmas presents, and it
made them really happy,” Ella says.
Now, she is on to an entrepreneurial idea that
will take her fundraising to the next level. Ella
is actively developing “Pop, the Pop Up Shop,”
which will be a small “she-shed” from which Ella
can cook and sell goods to fund her philanthropy
people cover medical bills. This idea was inspired
when her sister broke her arm and had to have
surgery. “I thought about it and I wondered how
you would get surgery if you couldn’t afford it,”
Ella says. She plans to decorate Pop with an 80s
diner theme. (She has a logo and picked out their
signature color—red.) Her family is helping her
navigate the permit process, and they are actively
seeking venues where she can set up.
In the meantime, her giving spirit continues as
she is currently gathering donations of toiletry
items and games for another delivery to the
residents of Briar Glen. Ella’s mom happily
shares that she is always pushing them with a
new idea of how to help others and their biggest
challenge is to keep up with her plans. Ella just
smiles and says, “I’m not going to stop.”
To nominate a child for Kids Who Shine, email matthew@jbmcmedia.com.
link