Big Things Happen ...when you don't give up

INSPIRATIONAL GIRLS, November 2009, by Alex Papaconstantinou

BIG THINGS HAPPEN
When You Don't Give Up

My name is Alex Papaconstantinou and I am 15 and in grade 11. I like to dance, read, camp, play sports, and have a blast with my friends. I usually spend my summers doing these things, but this past summer was different. A little boy I used to babysit who is also a family friend was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma cancer in his stomach. 'Connor' is only 2 years old.

Deciding To Help
When we first got the news we were all devastated, of course. Personally, I wasn’t dealing with his diagnosis very well. After a couple of days of me moping around the house, my mom told me that instead of giving the situation all of my negative energy, I should be contributing positively. So I went to visit my friend Jaimi for help with brainstorming. We made the decision to do a neighbourhood car wash and barbeque to try and raise money for the little guy. When I proposed the idea to my mom, she said that a bottle drive and a bake sale were also good fundraisers so we decided to make it one big event instead of a couple little ones.

Turning Challenges Into Successes
That week, I went around my area to different businesses and stores and handed out flyers to see if I could get any donations toward the occasion. This part was probably the biggest challenge because not a single business wanted to donate anything to a teenager. After experiencing many “No’s” from business owners, I was feeling extremely discouraged because support was crucial for making this happen. I told my mom about it and her and my neighbour went with me to go and try again. On our second attempt we got many donations; department stores gave us credit to buy supplies, small businesses donated food for the barbeque, dollar stores supplied us with stuff like sponges, cloths, buckets, and soap for the car wash, bars and pubs presented us with their empty bottles to go towards our bottle drive, and print shops made copies of flyers for us for free. Our local newspaper even gave us an advertisement and covered the event with two articles! Boy was I ever glad I didn’t give up after the first try.

Getting By With a Little Help From Our Friends
The next thing we needed to do was recruit volunteers. By the time we were at this stage of organization, many people around our neighbourhood had already heard about our event and expressed interest in helping and/or donating to the cause. So we had a meeting for all of the volunteers and planned everything out. That's when we decided to call it 'Car Wash 4 Conner.'

The week leading up to Connor’s Car Wash was really busy. Every day was spent baking, organizing, delivering flyers, and making posters. Luckily I had a lot of good friends come over to help me.

Nothing Can Stop A Good Thing
On the day that the fundraiser was supposed to occur, it poured rain in buckets and there was thunder and lightning all day! Unfortunately, we had to postpone it to the next day. A couple of the volunteers and I sat in the parking lot and collected bottles from the people who loyally showed up despite the rain. It was amazing to see how many people still came to support Connor. Two little girls went out and bought him toys. A little boy about 8 years old that read about Connor in the newspaper came with his father and brought a card saying “To Connor, Good luck buddy. Health is more important than money,” and in the card was $100 – a combination of all his life savings from his piggy bank and money his dad matched his contribution with. It made me cry because it was such a nice thing to do. That day we ended up making 4 trips to cash in bottles because that many people showed up!

An Amazing Success
The day of the actual fundraiser went flawlessly. The line-up for cars was around the corner! Connor was even well enough to visit for half an hour and he had fun. By the end of the day we had to turn cars away because it was getting late and we had to close up. The final count for the funds raised was over $7000, and man was that ever a shock! We didn’t expect to do that well at all. Hopefully we helped out Connor’s family with the money we raised.

The Beauty of a Community
Just experiencing this entire thing has made me realize how fast and strong a community can come together when someone is in need. It has opened my eyes to the willpower and the readiness that many people have for participating in aiding other people. 'Car Wash 4 Connor' would not have been nearly as big and successful as it was if it weren’t for every single one of the people that stepped up to the plate and supported Connor.

My message to other girls is to never give up and NEVER dream smaller than you can imagine because you will surprise yourself at what you are capable of accomplishing. You may not know it, but there is a fire that burns inside of you and it inspires you to move mountains! Don’t ever let someone else let you believe that you can’t achieve something.

~ Alex

Message from the Editor: Dear readers, there are many people like Connor out there. Maybe they have cancer, or maybe something completely different. If Alex’s inspirational story touched your heart, then pay it forward and take this example to make a difference for someone you know or love. We don’t have to travel any farther than within our own communities to make massive positive change.

Comment

Kim

You, young Alex are a wonderful human being, and very strong woman. You should be proud of yourself. We are praying for Connor!

Liv

Thanks some much Alex you are a such a inspiration to all!

mellii

i think your heart is in the right place. great job.

Angel, 12 ON

Wow, i wish everyone out there as like you, you really touched mine, andother girls heart. Keep it up Alex, your a great person, with such a great heart.

Andie

That is so amazing, i almost wish i could do that. You are one special girl Alex.

bethany

It makes me so happy that people wuld achually go out in the rain and spend their time raising money! I makes me even mre happy because there has been 3 people in mu family that has had cancer, and I know that people like Alex raised money for their survival!!!

Lu-Lu

you are so awesome and kind. also very inspiring

Maddy

You're a great role model, keep it up! I bet you're inspiring a lot of girls out there right now.

Lisa

Your story brought tears to my eyes, it's great to see such dedication from great young adults such as yourself, keep up the good work!!

you rock!

It's good you didn't give up and you raised so much money.

Alisia

Alex you are an amazing young woman! What you have done for Connor is so inspirational. You will go far in live, keep doing what you do so well.

Kelly

You are truly inspiring. A great article that I will share with some girls at the public school I teach at.