How does a 12-year old girl end up on Ellen and get presented with a huge $10,000 check? At just 10 years old, Alanna Wall started a youth volunteer organization called Polished Girlz with the mission to bring joy into the hospital rooms of young girls. Because many of the hospitalized girls have a lowered immune system due to chemo or sickness, and can’t leave their room without risk of infection, the Polished Girlz come to them. They suit up with gloves, masks, hospital gowns, and troop their polish right into the room, bringing sparkle even to those seemingly ostracized from the rest of the world. One young girl explains in an interview from her hospital bed, “When the Polished Girlz come in, they make you happy and excited.” Alanna herself adds, “I like making people feel good about themselves and making them smile.”
Right now the nonprofit has 125 volunteers in multiple states, but is looking to expand even further. The company operates solely on the small donations it receives, and so every little bit helps to pay for another bottle of polish, which in turn allows for several more manicures. Not only that, each dollar lends to a little bit of laughter and talk between the Polished Girlz and their young clients, as nail painting is very interactive. “You can change the world in many ways,” says Alanna, and “glitter…makes everything better!”
Check out Alanna’s guest appearance on Ellen, and see what they’re up to each day via Facebook!
Visit Polished Girlz on the web: http://polishedgirlz.org
[Video: The Ellen Degeneres Show]
