‘I wanted to help’: Girl donates toys to children’s hospital for 4th birthday in honor of sister

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT/Gray News) - Inside the Browell’s Chesterfield home, you can usually find Amelia Browell in her playroom with her favorite toys, including her Spiderman car.

Instead of making a wish list of toys for her 4th birthday, Amelia decided she wanted to grant wishes for all the kids being treated at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

“I wanted to help the babies and the kids,” Amelia told WWBT.

The donation was made for her big sister, Addy.

“This year, she was really adamant,” said Caroline Browell, Amelia’s mother. “She wanted to help the babies and the kids in the hospital that helped her big sister.”

In June 2021, Browell said Addy was diagnosed with a rare neuroendocrine tumor called a paraganglioma.

“They are hormone-producing tumors that create fight or flight hormones and just dump unregulated amounts of these hormones into your system, which make you very, very sick,” Browell said.

One month after Addy’s diagnosis, doctors removed the tumor and saved her life.

“She’s doing really great right now,” Browell said. “She is a sophomore in college and living her best life.”

A gift of life that Amelia is paying forward.

“She thinks the sun rises and sets on her big sister, so the fact that the hospital saved her sister’s life is a really big deal,” Browell added.

With help from friends, family, and coworkers, Amelia filled the front of her fireplace with dozens of items on the hospital’s wish list.

Right before Thanksgiving, the 4-year-old delivered those donations to the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU’s child life department.

“It was really just heartwarming and awesome to see so many people come together to help a cause that’s so close to our hearts,” Browell explained.

It’s an experience the mother hopes will inspire her kids to give back and do good for others.

“We want all of our kids to understand how important kindness and helping others is, and this is such a great way to introduce philanthropy at a young age,” she said.