Dwyer student’s charity gets boost
An excited Kayla Abramowitz and her family gathered around the TVs at Duffy’s just before 7 p.m. Monday, soaking in every moment her charity was in the spotlight on the “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.”
The “Inspiring America” segment condensed three days of filming into a minute and 30 seconds, capturing the essence of Kayla’s work with Kayla Cares 4 Kids, a nonprofit she started four years ago when she was just 11 years old.
Kayla, her family and about 20 supporters attended a watch party at the Duffy’s on PGA Boulevard and U.S. 1 in North Palm Beach, where the Duffy’s Foundation surprised her with a $500 check to further her efforts.
A table of about 30 people sitting across from their group quieted down when the segment came on, and some clapped when it was over.
“People clapping for me — I didn’t realize that would be happening,” the 15-yearold Dwyer High School freshman said.
The TV news segment introduced the Abramowitz family as they sorted donations of DVDs, books and video games at a storage unit. It featured the smiley, confident Kayla interacting with kids at a Ronald McDonald House in Miami as she made her delivery. And it didn’t gloss over Kayla’s own extended hospitalizations for Crohn’s disease, juvenile arthritis and a rare form of colitis.
Kayla’s boredom during her own hospital stays was the impetus for starting the nonprofit Kayla Cares 4 Kids. Since its inception, the nonprofit has distributed more than 12,000 DVDs, books and video games to hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in all 50 states.
The delivery to the Ronald McDonald House in March alone consisted of 31 DVD players for each family’s room, 100 donated DVDs Sarah Peters and dozens of children’s books from a division of Penguin Random House.
Two of the children Kayla visited at the Ronald McDonald House in Miami drew her colorful pictures, which she prizes.
“A lot of them were camera shy, so it was cute to see their reactions,” she said. “It was so great that they were supportive and wanted to talk for the cameras,” she said. “It was just a really fun day overall.”
After the segment aired, emails, Facebook posts and tweets from across the county started pouring in. The NBC affiliate in South Australia even ran the story. By noon on Tuesday, people donated another $3,000 to Kayla Cares 4 Kids, Kayla’s mom, Andrea Abramowitz said.
Kayla has about 13 ambassadors in other states to organize and distribute their own collections, and she would like to add more, Andrea Abramowitz said.
“There’s nothing really special about what we’re doing. Kayla had an idea, and it caught on fire,” she said. “We want to help other people do it where they live.”
That’s the kind of hard work and humility that has made Kayla so successful.
A few days ago, she and her friends gathered at the storage unit on Global Youth Service Day to pack 500 items for five hospitals nationwide, she told me.
She has won a national entrepreneurial competition. She earned an award that came with a $36,000 check for her charity. She and her parents take a personal interest in helping other families who have children with rare and undiagnosed illnesses.
Kayla does it all, despite the days she’s not feeling well. She could wallow in self-pity about the diseases she must live with, but she chooses not to do so.
She continues to be overflowing with gratitude for all contributions she receives. She said Tuesday that she’s happy people still want to support Kayla Cares 4 Kids.
Congratulations, Kayla, and keep up the good work.