Official Kids Mag

Businesses have jumped on board too, providing cheese and Vienna sausage (a favorite among the residents!), lap blankets, and many other gifts. "It's rewarding to see their reactions," Ruby said. "They're very happy and excited, and it lifts their day." Ruby mentioned an elderly resident named Shannon who'd had a stroke. "It's hard for her to talk. We gave her an electric wheelchair. At first she said, 'I'm not going to be able to drive this.' A week later we saw her— she was just amazing at it. She was zipping up and down the hall." The fifth-grader's heart-warming story has attracted media from all over the world. She's gotten news coverage in India, Iceland, New Zealand, Vietnam, Romania, Bulgaria and many other countries. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has featured her twice. Steve Hartman, host of the popular CBS show "On the Road," traveled to Harrison so he could follow Ruby to a nursing home. "With 44 million views, it's his most popular video to date," Amanda said. She's been on Good Morning America, ABC News, CNN and Chicago's WGN-radio. "She's always had a strong desire to help others," her mom said. "In many ways, she's a very normal 11-year-old. But when it comes to her service for others, that's just her thing. We've said for many years that kindness is her hobby." That kindness brought her recognition as GoFundMe's Kid Hero of the month, and both CNN's and Fox News' Kid Hero award. She also won a local Jefferson Award, given to "people in our community who do incredible acts of kindness and don't act for recognition," according to CBS news anchor Heather Lewis. Harrison's mayor, Jerry Jackson, proclaimed March 28,2019 as Ruby Kate Chitsey Day, saying, "We're so proud to have this compassionate young girl in our community making a big difference at such a young age to the elderly in our city." You might think all this attention would go to Ruby's head, but her focus is on her elderly friends. She told her mother, "They're my oxygen." She admitted that "sometimes I get really stressed, but other times I'm ready for it. And I'm just so grateful." "Ruby has always been different," Amanda explained. "She's always been gifted when it comes to emotions and noticing nonverbal cues of distress—more than most people. It's both a blessing and a curse. She wished for a long time that she was more like other kids, tougher and more resilient—for lack of a better word, meaner, that things didn't get to her." Amanda and her husband attempted to find a hobby their daughter would enjoy and that would help her feel valued. "She's not really athletic. She doesn't dance, she doesn't do pageantry. We tried every single hobby imaginable. None of them appealed to her. When it came to volunteering, that is her thing," Amanda said. Off icialKidsMag.com • MAY 2019 • 15

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