Austin
At the age of 8, Austin has been living with Juvenile Dermatomyositis for about 4 years. He wishes, like many of us, that a cure will soon be found.

One day Austin decided to work on making this wish come closer to becoming true. He was determined to raise some money for research. Being such an avid reader, he came up with the idea that he could read books for money. After all, he had a lot of books in his bookcase he had not read yet. Austin gathered as many pledges as he could from his family and friends. He explained to them about his disease and just how important this was to him. He then read as many books he could for a whole entire month. He kept his pledgers interested in his progress by posting his comments on the books as he completed them on a website he created with the help of his mother. At the end, Austin had a very successful read-a-thon where he was able to raise about $1,000.

Austin is our hero for his strong will and determination to make a difference. He is an inspiration to us that every bit helps in getting closer to finding a cure. His accomplishment reminds us that we can work together to make that dream a reality. Austin, we are sure your wish will one day come true.