Grace Cross, a 12-year-old with cerebral palsy, works hard to not let her disability define her. She was born 26 weeks premature with a 10% chance of survival and little hope of walking or talking. She learned about thinking of others needs through her church’s children’s activities, and when she joined Girl Scouts in kindergarten and became part of the Girl Scout cookie program, she encouraged her customers to donate boxes of cookies. That first year she sold 759 boxes, 50 of which were Cookie Shares, which she donated to the Long Beach Rescue Mission, where her father and brother volunteered. Inspired by a local businesswoman and her own personal desire to help kids and families, Grace researched different charities to donate to. In the last five years, she has donated 900+ boxes of cookies to different organizations, including Olive Crest, Thomas House, Huntington Beach Youth Shelter and Ronald McDonald House. Grace also participates in a Christian dance group called Dance4Joy, which performs for the elderly at several convalescent homes at Christmas and Easter.
“When I first started thinking about ‘giving back,’ I knew I wanted to help kids and families. I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to have a broken family or no family at all. I just want to do what I can to help.” Grace Cross