Local Youth Turn Caroling Experience into Charitable Cause

What started as purely a way to entertain themselves turned into a charitable activity for a group of five local youth.

Amanda Penkivech, Kenzie Kastman, Emily Cole, Emily Catena and Evy Ehrlich decided to go caroling on Thursday night because "we were bored and it sounded like a fun idea, and we've never been caroling before," they said in an e-mail.

Along the way, one of the houses surprised them, with a $3 donation that the homeowner suggested they use for ice cream. 

But the girls quickly formed a new idea: they decided to donate the money.

"We were just doing it for fun and didn't expect to get any money for it. We got the first three dollars, and just all simultaneously thought, 'We should donate this.' We can't say who came up with the idea, because we just all said it at the same time," the group explained.

But where to donate the money? That was easy: the girls chose the Make-A-Wish Foundation in honor of one of the girls in the group — Kastman — who is a cancer survivor. Kastman battled neuroblastoma when she was just 3 years old.

"We're so happy that we still have her today because she's such a great friend.  We wanted to do something for other little kids with cancer to help them get through it and give them some hope," the group said.
         
If the girls don't hit your house while caroling but you'd still like to donate, you can contact the girls by e-mailing lumunus@wi.rr.com.