Coen Gartner is a 10-year-old boy with a big heart and a head for business. Prompted by his sister’s experience in hospitals, the young man decided to make a difference by raising funds for Teddy Bears Anonymous.
It all started with a lemonade stand. Standing in the simmering July heat, Gartner spent a whole morning selling his lemonade. “He came in from that morning,” recalled Gartner’s mother, Candis Hildebrandt, “and he said ‘Mom, I want to give all this money to someone.’”
Gartner went out again in the afternoon, ultimately raising $132.35 from the whole day. Excited by his success, Gartner decided to continue in his fundraising efforts by taking to social media. With donors purchasing teddy bears for $4.00 a piece, Gartner has raised another $60.00 for the non-profit organization.
When asked why he chose teddy bears, Gartner responded “I wanted to make kids happy,” an admirable trait for a young man his age.
For Gartner, his choice to donate to Teddy Bear Anonymous came close from his heart. His little sister Kinley, was diagnosed with biliary atresia when she was only 2 ½ months old.
Biliary atresia is a liver disease that affects 1 in 10,000 – 20,000 infants, and if left untreated, may cause death before the infant is two years of age. Happily, for Kinley, she underwent an operation called the Kasai procedure to halt the damage to her liver.
Now four years old, Kinley keeps her parents and older brother busy with her antics. “We still have to be careful with her,” noted Hildebrandt. “Jumping on trampolines and contact sports is definitely a no-no.”
To help raise awareness and to support the Saskatoon pediatric ward, the Hildebrandt family holds a drive every year around Kinley’s birthday, where toys or funds may be dropped off at the Hildebrandt household before making their way to Saskatoon. The next drive will be held in April 2018.
Six years Kinley’s senior, Gartner has grown up taking care of her and promoting awareness for biliary atresia. This past year, Gartner was learning how to use power point and decided to make his school project on Kinley and biliary atresia. This helped spark a campaign that Gartner plans to keep up for the rest of his life.
“He has a large heart like that,” smiled Hildebrandt, “I think that growing up with a sibling with a health challenge can be very difficult, but it can also enlarge your heart.”
To help Coen Gartner raise more funds contact Candis or Justin Hildebrandt for more details.
Feature Image Source: Submitted by Candis Hildebrandt
For the latest information and for more updates on everything Kindersley ‘Like’ the Kindersley Social Facebook page below…
