Watch CBS News

Brotherly Love: Kids Create "Hearts 4 Hemophilia" Calendar

By Ukee Washington

VOORHEES, N.J., (CBS) -- Maybe you've seen two siblings going door to door in Voorhees. They're not selling chocolate or popcorn. They're selling a calendar very dear to their hearts.

It all started with the story of a little boy with a serious disease, Max Levy. Max loves Legos and Iron Man, so when Max needed surgery to implant a port in his chest, his father, Dan, explained in a way he could understand.

"I said, 'That metal disc he had in his chest? You're going to get one of those,'" Dan said. "And I'll remember it for the rest of my life, he said, 'I get to be Iron Man?!'"

Max needed the port for medication for hemophilia, a genetic disorder that prevents blood from clotting. Any injury can be life-threatening.

"It's sometimes difficult to let him just be a normal kid," Dan said.

"The first four years of his life, he had to wear a helmet to keep his head and brain safe," said Zoe Levy, Max's sister.

Zoe, who is 8 and loves photography, came up with an idea to help kids like her brother. "I'm making a calendar to raise money for CHOP to help cure hemophilia," she said.

"We got some of the most amazing pictures all taken by little kids, and I put them together," Dan said. "Zoe picked what was going to go on each month. Max picked the color of each month."

"And we're all taking pictures, so I took the picture of the school bus!" Max said.

Zoe and Max and friends are selling the calendars door to door and online. They call the effort Hearts 4 Hemophilia. Already, they have raised almost $6000 for CHOP.

Dan said, "We thought, 'If we get to a thousand dollars, that'll be neat. We'll help a lot of people with a thousand dollars.' To get to five or six, it's just incredible for two little kids walking around knocking on doors selling calendars."

Every dollar and every mention of hemophilia helps. Max has a message for the calendar buyers: "Thank you for buying a calendar."

Zoe and Max are selling the calendars at http://Hearts4Hemophilia.org.  They cost $20 online.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.