Julia Macy, or Jamie as her friends and family call her, was touched by cancer at a very young age. Her paternal grandmother died of pancreatic cancer when Jamie was just four years old, and Jamie's mother has been a breast cancer survivor for two years. As a result, she's taken a strong interest in helping others battling cancer, especially children.
Recently, she had the goal of collecting as many hats as possible and donating them to programs that specialize in helping kids with cancer. After a local paper ran an article about her project, people from all over made donations, and in the end she collected over 3,000 hats from around the world. With the help of her friends, Jamie was able to sort, box and mail the hats to children's cancer hospitals and camps in the United States and in Israel.
Her project not only helped ease the lives of cancer patients, but has also been recognized by other charitable foundations. In 2006, she was honored by author Cornell Graham's Smiling Tears Project, which acknowledges people across the country doing great work for others. Since then, Jamie has continued to pursue her interest. This past summer, she received hands-on experience as a mother's helper to the staff at Camp Simcha in New York. The camp is geared toward children with cancer and other terminal illnesses. Jamie helped the children with camp activities such as arts and crafts, and she's scheduled to return next year.
She considers her work a small contribution to those affected by cancer...but we think she's made a big difference.
Keep up the great work Jamie!
