LAIRDSVILLE, Pa. -- A 10-year-old girl from Lycoming County is raising money to help comfort children in the hospital, and a fifth grade class from a different school is helping her reach that goal.
Aly Creasy recently visited the fifth grade class at Renn Elementary School. She talked to students about her charity, Aly's Monkey Movement.
"I made a birthday wish when I was turning 10 to have people donate me money so I can buy stuffed animal monkeys and give them to children in the hospital," Aly explained.
Aly got the idea when she was in the hospital.
"My lymph nodes started to swell, and my Nana gave me a monkey and it brought me comfort."
The fifth grade class at Renn Elementary decided to donate their money to Aly. The students raised $75.
"We usually do a gift exchange and my students all agreed that's what they wanted to do, until out of the corner of the room, one of my students said, 'I would like to donate money to a charity,'" said teacher Jane Reynolds.
"This year, I just got a feeling that I should help and I decided to raise my hand and do that," said Zeke Derr.
"This charity, I don't think there is anything like this. This is definitely a unique one that nobody can imitate," Addison Henninger said.
Aly's goal is to purchase 1,500 monkeys by her 11th birthday on April 1.
Since the start of the new year, Aly has already raised enough to purchase 200 monkeys. Each monkey is named after a donor.
"It makes me feel happy that there is so much love out in the world," Aly added.
If you'd like to help Aly purchase a monkey, you can find the link to donate on her GoFundMe page.