Kids raising money for kids: celebrating Stollery Superstars

The seventh annual Stollery Superstars Party was held Sunday, celebrating children who raised money to help other children.

The Stollery Children's Hospital is a pediatric hospital with some of the "highest inpatient volumes of any children's hospital in Canada," according to Alberta Health Services.

"This is all about making kids feel special, telling them the impact they're having, making a day where we can celebrate them," said Martin Schuldhaus, the Stollery's vice president of marketing and communications.

The children raise money through events like lemonade stands, making and selling jewellery and even donating Christmas and birthday presents.

"As a parent, there's a lot of pride when you see your children be selfless and make that choice," said Schuldhaus. "Giving their birthday money and giving up Christmas gifts and realizing that you can have an impact on someone else that you don't even know, I think that's really powerful.

"It teaches young people the power of philanthropy, it teaches them how to build their communities, teaches them really good values, and the parents tell us that all the time, that this is really special for (kids) and their siblings."

So far, the program has raised over $1 million, with last year's fundraising total being $205,745.

"I wanted to help those children get out of the hospital and get better," said seven-year-old Eliana Bulfon.

"It's nice to help all the sick children because it's sad they have to deal with all that while we're outside having fun," added her older brother Marco Bulfon.

Some of the money raised is going towards initiatives at the hospital like mental health care and renovating the Beach, a play space and area for therapeutic programs for patients and families.

Around 90 Stollery Superstars were able to make it out to Sunday's event.