Make A Child Smile

"The Forum" Newspaper
Coral Springs & Parkland, Florida - March, 2001

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Sowing the seeds of love -- via the Internet
Local woman locates support for sick children
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by AMY WARD

You've got mail!

These three little words might mean nothing more than another e-mail to most, but to the ears of a terminally ill child or their families, these words can be a ray of sunshine.

Coral Springs resident Alexandra Bakker found that it doesn't take much to brighten a sick child's day. Alex created a web of support in the form of a nonprofit organization known as Make A Child Smile Organization.
The organization is based on her website, www.makeachildsmile.org, and also is known as MACS. The website features several children each month, children who are facing physical and emotional challenges every day.

The website displays their biographical information and invites web surfers from around the world to send toys, letters or cards of concern to cheer them up. Alex explained that both the children and their parents often are in great need of extra support.

Children with illnesses such as leukemia and AIDS, or children waiting for organ donations are featured on the website. These are children whose conditions are considered chronic, severe, life-threatening or terminal, she said.

Since its inception in 1998, the website already has helped 89 children and has been featured on the "Maury Povich Show."

Alex said that her job as webmaster is one of high reward. "I never had a more rewarding job," she said. Alex said many people benefit from the website.
"Not only the children featured and their family benefit from the mail, but those who send mail benefit from it, too," she said. "I once received an e-mail from a 76 year-old disabled lady who cannot leave her house for anything. She wrote the sweetest e-mail thanking me for giving her something to do."

Vicki, 57, of Prosperity, SC, has been sending cards and gifts since she retired just over two years ago. She said that the website has made her retirement more fulfilling.

"MACS has absolutely given back a 1000 percent more than I have given to it," she said. "The involvement has enriched me. It is a continuing and expanding 'Oprah moment' as it 'fills my spirit'."
Vicki and her 86-year-old mother have also helped make "Love Quilts" for the children. Their group of quilters has created 19 quilts this year.

Does Alex create all this because of some personal connection to any of these illnesses? Well, the connection is personal, but not in the way one might think.

She said she created the website after reading the home page of a little girl fighting cancer whose parents were requesting people to send cards to her. That was all it took to get the fire burning in Alex's heart. Since then the website has become much like a full-time job - without the pay

Having recently moved to Coral Springs, Alex hasn't found community support, donations and volunteers she so desperately needs to keep the website going. Already classified as a 501(c)(3), she said she hopes to start taking in more donations through the organization to help assist the families with medical and funeral expenses.

Yes, unfortunately, some of the children featured on her website die, but Alex keeps the memory of these children alive by placing their photo on the "Angel got its Wings" page of her website, where they are listed as "Angels."

Glennette, 31, of Albany, GA, sends cards to featured children and said that even though some of the children do die, they live long enough to touch other people's lives. "They are each a gift from God no matter how long he allows them to live on Earth with us, and they have touched my life in ways I never imagined," Glennette said.

There are many heartwarming stories connected to the website.

Lin of Boca Raton, FL, has three children, Mikey, 14, Amy, 11, and Jimmy, 9.
Jimmy has had a hard time living a normal childhood.
In his nine years, he's had one brain tumor removed and two bone tumors removed from his back. He also has mild Cerebral Palsy and a condition called Dystonia, which causes his muscles to spasm to the point that he can't move.

Jimmy was featured on the MACS website in October 1998. Since then he has received hundreds of cards and many presents, too, Lin said. Even though he was one of the featured children on the website more than two years ago, he still receives about five cards a week. "It has truly made Jimmy smile," Lin said. "It has also been a great emotional support for the whole family"

Mary and David of Fischer, IL, have a daughter, Katelyn Rose, 7, who has a bone marrow failure disease called Aplastic Anemia. After being featured on the website in February 1999, Katelyn received a quilt created from web-surfing cross stitchers who read about her hobbies on the website and incorporated them into the quilt.

"It is a fabulous reminder of how deeply she was cared for during the most difficult time in our lives," Mary said.
Mary and David have two other children, and Alex makes sure to encourage people who visit her website to send cards and gifts to the siblings so they don't feel left out.

Jonathan, 21 months, was featured on the website last July. He has a blistering skin disorder known as Epidermolysis Bullosa.
Brenda, Jonathan's mother, said that Alex is an exceptional person for creating her website.

"It makes her an amazing, remarkable woman," Brenda said. "The first time I went to the website I cried - not just for the children, but because there was this wonderful woman who sat down one day and decided to do something for children with special needs."

For more information visit their website at www.makeachildsmile.org