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LoginGRAND LEDGE - Shortly before Christmas when many kids may have been focused on what to expect under the tree for themselves, a trio of children with Grand Ledge ties were thinking of someone else.
On Wednesday, Dec. 22, Anthony Kreiner, 9, of Eagle, his cousin Alexis Kreiner, 10, of Pontiac, and Kyra Dennis, 10, a fifth-grader at Beagle, decided to help out a young friend, Jacalyn Lambrix-Wilkes, 8.
Jacalyn of Delta Township had recently been struck with a recurrence of cancer.
Surgery and a stay at University of Michigan-Mott Hospital has forced her to postpone a Make-a-Wish Foundation trip to Disney World, scheduled for Jan. 8. She was going to stay in the castle.
Anthony and Alexis know Jacalyn because her grandparents, Randy and Jackie Wilkes, live near their grandparents in Grand Ledge.
Kyra lives in the Wilkes' neighborhood.
"They told us they were going caroling," said Anthony's mother, Melissa.
About an hour later the trio returned and reported they had collected about $50.
"We said, 'what? You're taking money from people?'" Melissa said.
"And they said 'no, we took the money to Jacalyn's grandparents to give to her family.'"
On a second trip out the children returned with $146.
Anthony, a fourth-grader at Westwood Elementary in Portland, couldn't explain how the kids came up with the idea, but said, "It felt good."
It was fun to then hand over the money to the grandparents.
"They were amazed," he said.
Indeed they were, agreed Jacalyn's grandfather, Randy Wilkes.
"I was very impressed by that," he said. "They did it all on their own with no parent ever involved."
His granddaughter, a student at Willow Ridge Elementary, will now face another round of chemotherapy and radiation.
His daughter, Becca Lambrix, Jacalyn's mother, said she expects Jacalyn to miss a lot of school, he said.
"She has a long battle ahead," he said.
But the actions of the children and the contributions from their neighbors touched their hearts, Wilkes said.
"I really thought these kids should get some recognition," Randy said.
"Their hearts were all for Jacalyn."
And Wilkes said he wanted to share the information about his granddaughter.
"Maybe other people will offer up prayers for Jacalyn," he said,
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I am proud of my duaghter and her cousin and friend for doing this for their friend without anyone asking them to do this. I figured it was worth sharing.
-Rich
