Our Story

My service journey began at the start of my sophomore year when I accepted into my high schools National Honor Society. The offer came at ideal time; many aspects of my life had been altered in a year of the COVID-19 pandemic and a season-ending ankle injury. I had spent my isolation struggling with my mental health due to the devastation that the sport that I loved had ended in a such bad injury.

When quarantine started, just as many others, I had been secluded from the outside world. Alongside of a world-wide pandemic, we had moved my Grandma to Texas from Canada. Throughout this time I witnessed her battle with mental health as I was struggling myself. I was wary on my ability to be accepted into NHS considering my focus was mainly on sports, however, I thought it was worth a try. Before I knew it, I received my NHS acceptance letter. I began to search for service opportunities and during my search I came across an opportunity to write letters for seniors and create cards for kids in Boston hospitals. As I worked towards my service goal’s I soon realized that the creation of these cards was not only beneficial to me but was extremely beneficial to my grandma. Throughout her struggle with mental health, she found joy in us creating these cards together. In a world of fear and unknown, card making became our safety blanket. We would work on cards and letters together for hours at a time. I wanted to spread this joy of card making, I was alongside my grandma and making peoples day was life changing.

Knowing how much Sebastian had struggled during his mom’s cancer treatment along with his recent acceptance into NHS I knew he would be the best person to help with the influx of needed cards and helping me create an organization to do more.

When I first heard of the opportunity to be a part of an organization to help sick children in hospitals from Madaleine, I immediately accepted. I knew the feeling of isolation in hospitals from not being a hospital patient myself but having seen my mother’s battle against breast cancer when I was in the 5th grade. Having seen the suffering in her eyes from several different treatments at a time, I wanted to take the responsibility to bring the color back into her life through never-ending hugs, fun card games, and endless conversations. In co-creating an organization that made cards for sick children in hospitals, I could expand the responsibility I had in 5th grade to my mother to a wide array of kids in need in the DFW metroplex. If there is one thing that I believe, it is that laughter and smiles are the ultimate remedies for anyone suffering any trauma.

I am also motivated to indulge my full commitment into this organization because I am very interested in the business side behind non-profit organizations. During COVID, while trapped behind the walls of my room, I began to utilize my time of isolation wisely and learn a variety of new things: one of which about finance. Through reading articles, books, and even watching TikTok videos about the stock market, I became extremely intrigued by the new world that I had uncovered. I had even created my own pressure washing service to make money during the pandemic. I see being a part of a non-profit organization as an opportunity to help grow something even bigger than a local pressure washing service and to first-hand experience what it is like for a CEO in the business world.