Three children give to peers at local hospitals

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Michael Hyland
  • Space and Missile Systems Center Public Affairs
LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) --  As a child, it is not very difficult deciding where your money goes: toys, toys, and if there is a little left over, toys. For three children here, the decision was a little more difficult.

Riley and Sydney Beris and Elizabeth Horejsi are the “Three Amigos,” a charity organization that has pet sat, collected cans and Christmas caroled its way to $460 in funds, most of which the girls have used to purchase toys and other items for children at local hospitals.

“We started last Christmas. We wanted to make money by Christmas caroling. One guy gave us a tip so we started to save money to give gifts,” Elizabeth said.

With that, the “Three Amigos” organization was born. Earlier this year, the three girls expanded operations with a venture into the pet-sitting business.

“I like pets a lot, so last year I wanted to start a pet-sitting business. The people across the street have a dog -- she’s really nice -- so as soon as we met her, we started,” Sydney said.

Designing a charitable organization from the ground up can prove to be a daunting task for any group of individuals. For the three friends, it seemed to be done seamlessly. That says a lot for a group whose combined age is 23 -- make that 23 and a half, with Sydney age 9, Elizabeth, 8, and Riley, 6 and a half.

So far, the trio has made deliveries to Little Company of Mary Hospital and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. They delivered gift packs with various plastic toys.

“We didn’t want to get wild toys because they wouldn’t be able to play with them in the bed, so we got them little toys,” Riley said.

They also included various personal hygiene items, like toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap, in each gift pack.

The “Three Amigos” recently delivered gifts to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Edith Avarez, a child life specialist at the center, accepted the donation.

“This is definitely a special event. Ninety-nine percent of the time donors are adults. It’s rare we have kids donating to kids, so it makes it very special,” she said. “Considering the population at this hospital, most kids come because they don’t have insurance, so receiving toys and fun treats really brightens their day. It helps make being at the hospital easier.”

Sydney and Riley’s mother, Shelly Beres, and Elizabeth’s mother, Cindy Horejsi, helped the girls with logistical issues, such as purchasing gift pack items and transporting the group to and from the neighborhood hospitals. Ms. Beres said the girls began the endeavor just for fun, but have since found inspiration with each other and continue to move forward.

“When they decided to carol, they were just doing it for fun. Then they got a dollar for a tip from the neighbor, and off they went. They evolved on their own,” she said.