Wayland Kids Prove You're Never Too Young to Lend a Hand

third-grader Marley Miller was barely old enough to be in school when her mother, Dana Miller, was diagnosed with ALS in August 2008.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, has since claimed Dana Miller's speech as well as the use of her hands, arms and legs. But it has given Marley and her family on a whole hearts for charity work and spirits of taking action.

Dana Miller served as the spokesperson for the CVS Pharmacy ALS fundraising campaign in 2009; her husband Bill Miller said his wife's efforts served as a catalyst to get the whole family -- Bill Miller, Marley and her three siblings -- involved in finding a cure for the disease.

"It got us all thinking about what can we do as well," Bill Miller said of his wife's involvement in the campaign, which raised about $4.5 million. “It [fundraising] was a way that we [the family] saw that we came to grips with what was going on. It also empowered us to think what we can do to help, not only Dana but anyone with this terrible disease.

"That was the wind in our backs to say, ‘Let’s see what we can do.’

And since then, they've done a lot. In 2009, twins Hannah and Spencer Miller, then sixth-graders, organized their friends and teammates into a team to participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS in Chelsea. That team was so successful at raising money that the ALS Association contacted the Millers about organizing a walk in Wayland. Oct. 22, 2011, will be the second year for the Wayland walk and, to date, the Millers' Walking Warriors team has raised about $120,000.

“It’s become a real event for us,” Bill Miller said. "I think it’s a good outlet for us. The truth is the whole community is behind us. This is such a wonderful town. It’s an easy platform."

Hannah and Spencer Miller will continue to captain the Walking Warriors team, but that doesn't mean their youngest sibling, Marley, doesn't have fundraising projects of her own.

Over the course of three days this summer, Marley and two classmates, Isabella VanRooyen and Caroline Lampert, ran a lemonade stand in their neighborhood. In three days, they earned about $90 selling the $1 per cup beverages – of course there were a few generous “keep the change” moments from patrons.

“We set a goal to raise $100,” Marley said. “We raised $90 from the lemonade stand and then a neighbor gave us $20 for helping in her garden.”

The three third-grade lemonade proprietors were able to donate $110 to the ALS Therapy Alliance.

“It was Marley’s idea and her friends supported her,” Bill Miller said. “It was a typical late August when the kids are looking for something to do.”

The next charitable act Marley has pursued is recruiting her soccer and lacrosse teammates to participate in the Oct. 22 walk, for which the Wayland Warriors team is still raising money.

For more information about the Oct. 22 walk in Wayland, check out the event website.