A cool morning crispness overwhelmed each and every volunteer on a day that brought a sense of unity to the community. The smell of coffee was potent, and children jumped and monkeyed around with each other and posters. They giggled, they said “thank you,” and they asked how they could help. It was the sound of “kids helping kids” — the sound of 10 year-old Makenna Schwab’s third year of a successful Make A Difference Day project.

Schwab was diagnosed with Larsen’s Syndrome, which is a rare connective tissue disorder that causes dislocation throughout the body, when she was born. She has been a patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital since one week of age. Just three years ago, Schwab decided it was time for her to turn the tables and help her hospital.

“I’ve spent a lot of time at Seattle Children’s so that inspired me to kind of give back because they’ve given me so much,” she said.

“About three years ago, Makenna came to me and asked if she could sell lemonade to help kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital,” said her mother, Melissa Schwab. What started with that has now turned into something much greater.

The first year, they held a bake sale and sold lemonade, just as Makenna wished. Makenna then held a toy drive during Make A Difference Day 2012, and this year, Makenna sold 530 boxes of a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

All $7,539 will now be donated to Seattle Children’s when Makenna goes to Seattle for another surgery on Thursday, Nov. 7.

Geoff Ping, owner and dentist at Wenatchee Pediatric Dentistry has offered the Schwab family his location and generous support the past two years. “I think once anybody meets Makenna, it’s pretty easy to understand why someone would help her and the desire she has to help other kids,” said Ping. “Makenna’s only 10, she’s spent a lot of time in Seattle Children’s, she’s had 10 surgeries, about to have her 11th. She’s a patient of ours … that’s how we first met her.”

Makenna was not the only one making a difference on Oct. 26. Wenatchee High School’s own Key Club spent eight hours pumping gas to customers at the Wenatchee Safeway. The football team also spent time cleaning up the WHS campus picking up garbage, weeding, and spreading new dirt on the baseball field.

“I really like how everyone in the community gets together and helps out in the community, [it’s] not like you’re selfish or anything, [but] you’re going to help out other people, [and] you get to see through other people’s perspectives,” said junior Key Club vice president Teresa Bendito, who was on site pumping gas.

Make A Difference Day has been a tradition for more than 20 years, and can be described as “neighbors helping neighbors,” which indeed is important to community members.

“Every year it just amazes me more and more people, especially people that don’t have a lot, they still want to give back and help others who are less fortunate than themselves,” said Wenatchee Pediatric Dentistry administrative staffer Amy Barragan, who was helping with Makenna’s fundraiser.

“[Seattle Children’s] saved her life, you know, they’ve performed surgeries that not only saved her life but changed how the course of her life went. They have her the ability to walk and so we just know how important [they are],” said Melissa. “She’s over there regularly getting surgeries. You meet families, you just realize the impact that they have through their medical research and the doctors that they have there. That’s why it’s important to us to just give back to them when we can.”

Because of the success over the last few years, the Schwab family has started a nonprofit organization, Kids Helping Kids, which aims to get kids involved with volunteering and fundraising to give back to kids in need, according to Melissa.

“The community gives so much to us, so I think it’s really important that we take the time to give back to it,” said junior Key Club president Francesca Nevil, “whether that’s something small or something big.”