Choosing a Track

Despite a gentle voice, teenager Danielle speaks up for the most vulnerable among us. She was inspired by her beloved grandfather who was undergoing treatment at Greenwich Hospital’s Smilow Cancer Center. When he eventually passed in 2021, Danielle looked beyond her grief to see how much comfort the doctors and nurses had given to him and his family. She chose to extend that message of compassion through a fundraiser for the hospital.

Keep Going

Choosing a bat mitzvah project, to demonstrate her care for the community, provided the opportunity. “I decided to celebrate him,” she says. “I started making string bracelets with train charms. I sold them for $5 each, and people just loved them. I was able to raise a lot of money, which made me feel so good because of what that charm represents — my grandpa loved trains. He built model trains from when he was 13 years old until he was 89. People liked the effort so much that they contributed.” With the help of a matching gift from the company her mother works for, Danielle was able to donate a sizeable gift to Greenwich Hospital.

Looking back, she says she was surprised by the tremendous response to her bracelets, but also grateful. “It felt really good to be able to make him proud. I felt like I was helping the community while also making everybody around me realize how much of an impact he had on my life.”

Each bracelet takes Danielle about two hours to create. Although she no longer sells the labor-intensive craft, she still enjoys making them as a hobby. She also continues to fundraise. The teen started a new project making inspirational rubber bracelets imprinted with the phrase: “Band Together, Save Lives.” She also switched the beneficiary to Greenwich Hospital’s recently opened Pediatric Ambulatory Surgery Center. “I thought it would be a good idea to help children. I feel like they are very vulnerable and need all the support that they can get.”  

Moving Forward

The experience of her grandfather’s hospital care and the response to her projects have her contemplating the future. “This project really inspired me,” she says. “It showed me how hard these doctors and nurses work. The doctors and nurses who helped my grandpa were the best people ever. He loved everyone who helped him, and I want to be able to do that for others someday. This project showed me how much it can impact somebody’s life.”

Until then, she continues to prioritize gratitude, including a message for the medical team: “I want to tell the doctors and nurses that they have a bigger impact on people than they probably realize. Every day I think about how when my grandfather came back from his appointments, he would tell us that he had the best nurses. They did a lot for him, and I hope they know how much it meant to our whole family.”

Danielle mentions plans for another project and possibly rotating support to another department in the hospital. Meanwhile, she encourages fellow young people to try their own fundraisers. “Don’t be afraid,” she advises. “Even if your project only makes $10, you’re still making a difference in somebody’s life. You shouldn’t be afraid to take a risk to help somebody. It feels great.” She has learned that the key is inspiration. “My grandpa was my biggest inspiration. His name is George.”