Campus reaches out to terminally ill child
Sophomore heads effort to collect Christmas cards for 5-year-old boy; 130 cards made
Margaret Freeland
Issue date: 12/3/09 Section: News
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A sign asked students to take a moment to make a Christmas card for a five-year-old boy terminally ill with cancer.
Noah Biorkman, from South Lyon, Mich., has been fighting neuroblastoma, a type of nerve-tissue cancer, since he was three years old. This year, he may not make it to Christmas.
Deciding to celebrate Christmas early, Noah's parents requested Christmas cards for him on a personal Web site devoted to care updates about Noah. Through the power of the Internet, word about Noah's Christmas in November spread rapidly.
Sophomore Margaret Arnett started the project on campus after her mother told her about Noah, suggesting Arnett and her friends make cards to send.
Arnett and her roommate, sophomore Danielle Scholfield, decided to extend their efforts campus-wide.
The women set out construction paper and crayons outside the Student Activities Board office and in dorm lobbies.
In Olds Residence, students put time spent waiting in the lobby to good use decorating cards for Noah. Many students drew elaborate winter or nativity scenes on the fronts of their cards, then put a few well-chosen words of hope and encouragement inside.
Across the world people are getting involved.
"Twenty-four thousand people confirmed [having sent cards] on Facebook, and another 27,000 or so were maybes," Scholfield said.
"It was really fun and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to bless him in that way," junior Katie Walker, who made a card, said.
Scholfield agreed. "Little kids are just adorable," she said. "And it only takes two seconds."
Arnett and Scholfield collected more than 130 cards before finding out that, for personal reasons, Noah's family had requested that no more cards be sent.
Arnett still has the cards they collected. She said she wants to respect the family's wishes, so she can't send the cards, but she will not throw them away, either.
"People put a lot of time into [the cards] - they really care," she said.
She is interested in any ideas for a meaningful way to use the cards.
What does Arnett want people to know about her efforts?
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