Hi we are Nicholas Marriam and Shelby McKnew. A few years ago we started collecting items to make gift bags for kids with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. We did this because when Nick was 6, he was one of those kids. He was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma cancer. He was in the hospital a lot and had to grow up very fast and go through lots of scary things. He got Chemotherapy every week, spinal taps, shots, pills and was very sick! He was in the hospital so much he missed 2 years of school & was very lonely in there. When he was home he couldn't get out much or get many visitors because of germs. We have been doing this project every year since he got better. Nick lives in North Carolina and Shelby in Maryland. We collect all we can and get together and make gift bags and distribute them to Washington Children’s Hospital in Washington DC (where Nick was first treated) and to Duke University’s Children’s hospital, Wake Emergency, Rex and UNC in North Carolina There are a lot of kids who are lonely and sick in the hospital and these gift bags really help, we spend time with some of the kids and they smile and say thanks for visiting. The parents usually cry because they are reminded that people care about what they are going through.Help Us Make A Difference!http://www.nickelbyproject.org
