Miles Marden, 14, wanted to help children in treatment for life-threatening cancer. He met with Wayne Newell, the program manager of volunteers at Mass General and devised a plan. Through sales of holiday candy and donations from fellow students and their families, Miles obtained 13 DVD players for the hospital’s Special Needs Pediatric Unit. Now children confined to their bedrooms because they are vulnerable to infection can enjoy their favorite movies.
Now 15 and a sophomore at Belmont Hill School, Miles is once again rallying his family and community to raise funds for the MassGeneral Hospital for Children Cancer Center. Inspired by the spirit flags which were created by cancer patients and their families and hang along the halls of Yawkey 8, Miles and his team created a T-shirt fundraiser.
Most extraordinary is Miles’ innate desire to do good and make the world a better place. Says a close friend, “He is not in this for any other reason than he truly has a most compassionate heart, and I think if more young people were stirred awake in this way, this world would most definitely get better.” Miles hopes his story might inspire other young people to consider what they might do to improve the lives of others and the world around them.
