Gabby's Givers Wins Heart of Gold Award

Gabby's Givers Holiday Toy Drive has been awarded a Heart of Gold Award by The Princess Project. This Christmas, over 130 children battling cancer at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were given presents thanks to Gabriella's organization (with help from Mom, Rachel). Gabby is herself a patient at CHOP.

MJ--A New Heart of Gold Award Winner!!

The Princess Project is so proud to announce a new Heart of Gold Award winner--Margaret Purk!!!!
The Heart of Gold Award is given to those who face a challenge in their own life but rise above that challenge to help others who face similar circumstances.

Margaret "MJ" Purk is considered a Queen by all the children who know and love her.
Here is MJ's story in her own words:
I lost my mother to a car accident when I was 2 1/2 years old and my sister to SMA when I was 3. I first started giving when I was 9 and had spinal fusion and gave a little girl on PICU a beanie baby and just started giving. My first was handing out beanie babies at SMA Conferences and donated books and beanies to the PICU (Newark, NJ). I then started making cards or notes for SMA Kids and kids with Cancer and started sending out 25 a month and before I stopped at age 16, was up to 100 cards a month. Then started B4SMA (www.our-sma-angels.com/b4sma) and also taught myself how to do websites. Now I design and maintain about 70 websites on www.our-sma-angels.com in my free time. I am a junior at Wright State University, majoring in Rehabilitation Services, have a 3.7 gpa, despite missing 90 days of school last year due to a perforated intestine, the flu, and having trach surgery. I think that is me in a nutshell!--MJ Purk.

Please see the bios of all our other Heart of Gold Award winners (pictured in the slide show) on the main site:
www.princessprojects.com

Our newest Princesses and Princes, beginning with July/August 08, are in this new slide show! There's also a photo of Elizabeth taken at Yellowstone.

Heart of Gold Award Winners

Our Heart of Gold Award winners are
Madison Dodge--diabetes awareness and fundraising
Gabriella Turono--Gabby's Givers, Christmas gifts for children in CHOP
MJ Purk--SMA websites for kids
Terri Helmick--CDH Awareness Day in Iowa (See Terri's daughter, Ava, with a copy.)
Valerie Taylor Tittle--SMA Awareness Month in Alabama (See photo of Valerie and Sen.
Bedford)
Cassidy Thorn--Chiari research fundraiser
Michala Riggle--autism fundraiser
Samantha Thomson--nutrition classes
Miranda Miller--respiratory therapist
Reagan Clover--survivor of childhood trauma becoming a family therapist
Lisa Thele--diabetes camp volunteer
Check for links on the sidebar to some of their sites.

This blog was started as an auxiliary site for The Princess Project, an international charitable foundation with the mission of giving challenged girls the attitude of a Princess--and boys the attitude of a Prince. The home site for The Princess Project is

http://www.princessprojects.com

and our Caring Bridge site is

www.caringbridge.org/visit/princessprojectweyer