Exit
he knew ‘that’s what I lost.’”
He went to church that Sunday,
informing his priest about his idea,
and by the time he came back, the
fifth grader had plans for starting his own organization, which he
named Helping Angel. Angel Babcock passed away that very night in
a hospital in Kentucky.
“We had to tell him th e baby
had passed away, and it was
hard,” Catherine says. “And then
he said, ‘well I still want to raise
money for other kids. So that
it’s in her name.’”
ROBERT IN ACTION
The fifth grader, who is on his
school’s basketball, football and
lacrosse teams, took initiative to
raise money. His father helped
him make a website, HelpingAngel.org, and his mother helped
him draft a letter to his school’s
principal to get the other students
to donate to the cause. He placed
an old coffee can in the teacher’s
lounge for donations and had a
table at an open house, raffling off
donated tickets to the Globe Trotters. Strangers donated directly
to the website, much to his parents’ surprise.
“Of all the kids,” says his mom of
her children, “he’s got a really car-
GREATEST PERSON
OF THE WEEK
ing heart. He’s in tune with how
people feel.”
Helping Angel is hoping to be
sponsored by a national store like
Walmart or Home Depot, but the
organization needs to pick itself
up off the ground before trying for
sponsorship. Robert has raised
$700 so far, and he hopes to reach
$1,000 in order to donate the money directly a family in need.
“Five hundred dollars would go a
long way for a family in an immediate tragedy, if they need to get a hotel room or that kind of stuff,” Catherine says. “Whatever comes out of
it, hopefully he can help families.”
The organization is also trying to find Angel’s grandparents,
to tell them about Helping Angel
and “to say this [Helping Angel] is
in honor of this baby and to have
their blessing,” Catherine says.
“It would be nice to make
that connection.”
HUFFINGTON
10.21.12
Wolniewicz
started
collecting
donations
with an
old coffee
container
placed in his
school.