ONCEkids Unsung Female Heroes (Part One of Five)

When I looked up the definition of a hero my results included a statement that said a hero can be defined as "a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and qualities." Many of the people who meet this definition are recognized for their heroic actions in the news and through social media each day, but I found myself wondering- what about the heroes that are missed by the news and don't appear in the headlines? And notice, the definition stresses that a hero is a man who demonstrates these characteristics. So we at ONCEkids have compiled a list of the unsung female heroes of today, people who have reached out to others in a way that is both moving as well as inspiring, whose stories we feel ought to be told. 

Our first hero is our youngest female on our list, Allison Winn. Her organization, named the Stink Bug Project, has partnered with the Morgan Adams Foundation to give dogs to children with cancer, providing them with comfort and companionship during their difficult cancer treatments. Her idea came about after adopting a bichon frise during the time of her 14-month-long treatment for a brain tumor. She recalls that the dog's presence helped her feel better and more upbeat during her recovery. It was then that she decided she wanted sick children everywhere to feel the same type of affection from such a lovable animal- also did we mention that Allison is 10 years 
old? 
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She set her plan in motion by first setting up a lemonade stand. For the entire summer she worked the stand, selling homemade lemonade and dog biscuits. By the end of the summer she had saved up $1,000- which gave her enough to adopt and train two dogs to give them to two children. Since that summer, the program has raised $33,000 and organized the adoption of 10 different dogs, paying for everything from the adoption fee to the dog bed, crate, food, toys, and a collar. Allison and her family has continued their efforts towards helping kids with cancer feel just a little bit better and she has said that it is her ultimate goal to spread the cause to other states as well, instead of keeping it to just Colorado. 

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