Motivated by passion

Grady Pascucilla may be just 8 years old, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do after seeing a TV commercial about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“I saw the kids and they really needed help,” Grady said. “So I wanted to donate.”

The Guilford, Conn., youngster had some money saved, but he wanted to do more. So, with the support of family and friends, Grady hosted a car wash and an ice-cream-scoop night and did jobs for his family and neighbors like pulling weeds and selling eggs to raise money for the kids of St. Jude. At the scoop night, which took place at a local ice-cream parlor, Grady even created his own special flavor: strawberry s’mores. He said the new flavor was popular with the scoop night crowd, and that it “tasted really good.”

Grady ended up raising more than $7,000 and traveled with his family to St. Jude in Memphis, Tenn., to personally deliver the donations, which help ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.

Grady said he felt happy knowing he was helping to provide cancer research and treatment for St. Jude kids and that he hopes to eventually raise $10,000 for the kids of St. Jude.

“I wanted to give them a better life,” Grady said.