Orland Park Teen Donates Money From First Poetry Book To Ukraine

ORLAND PARK, IL — An Orland Park 13-year-old donated $1,000 in proceeds from a self-published poetry book to Ukrainian humanitarian efforts and said she hopes her journey can inspire other kids as well.

Isabelle Thomas, a student at St. Michael's Catholic School, always loved reading but wanted to take her passion for books to the next level by trying to write her own.

While she was excited by the idea, getting past the first few pages were difficult for Isabelle, who was in fourth grade at the time. That's when her mother suggested Isabelle try her hand at poetry.

"My first poem was called 'Honey,'" Isabelle remembered. The debut poem later made an appearance in her book, "Petals in the Sky."

After "Honey," the young author said she continued to write until she had nearly 20 poems collected in notebooks, scrap pages and on the computer. Eager for a place to put them all, the Thomas family brought up the idea of Isabelle compiling her very own poetry collection.

A few months later, Petals in the Sky was available for sale on Amazon and through a few copies the Thomas family had purchased. And the cash was rolling in.

"Oh yeah the first sale was really exciting," said Isabelle. "It was to my sister's dance teacher who asked for one and we gave it to her and she gave me $10 in cash. I remember turning to my mom and being like, 'Hey, can I keep this?'"

During this time, then-12-year-old Isabelle said she was affected by COVID-19 in the way many middle schoolers were. Feeling helpless and frustrated, Isabelle finally found inspiration.

"I was reading this magazine for school in my homeroom class about a bunch of people who volunteered doing work for COVID-19 and I thought about that and was like, 'Why don't I just donate the money I'm getting to COVID?'," Isabelle said.

By the end of 2020, the self-published and illustrated book had sold almost 70 copies and was shipped to six different countries. Copies were ordered from family members, Isabelle's teachers and even St. Michael's principal.

After the initial fanfare, Isabelle said she anticipated donating the money once she reached a goal of $500. But as COVID-19 restrictions loosened and Isabelle returned to school, a new cause caught her eye.

"We were talking about the awful things happening in Ukraine with Isabelle," said Isabelle's father, Johnson Thomas. "She's emotional and doesn't talk much but we know she takes things very seriously. This has given her a platform and motivated her so she can contribute in some way to humanity."

Isabelle said she made the difficult choice to redirect the money from her book to Ukrainian efforts after seeing children her own age struggle in the wake of Russian attacks. The Johnsons found that the Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief Fund would match 100 percent of a donation and shortly after sent Isabelle's $500 in, ending in $1,000 going towards aid.

"I felt really good about it and I want to do it again," said Isabelle, who is already working on her next book; this time, a novel about climate change with proceeds going towards environmental charities.

While Isabelle said she was lucky to have such supportive parents in Johnson and Rupa Thomas, she hopes other kids feel inspired to give back no matter the challenges.

"I want to ask other kids if they can get inspired by this," she said. "I was just because the thing I read about in school about those kids who volunteered and I felt motivated by it and I hope this is the thing other people read about that inspires them too."

Find Isabelle's book, "Petals in the Sky," on Amazon.