The Best Friend Ever? Meet A 9-Year-Old Bracelet Philanthropist

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[news]

A 9-year-old girl with a big heart and nimble fingers raised $47,000 for a sick friend by selling rubber band bracelets on Facebook.

Bethany Walker wanted to help her friend, Anne Marie Cox, of Benton Arkansas, who needed a saltwater therapy pool to ease the skin condition epidermolysis bullosa.

“Any kind of friction or trauma to the skin causes the skin to blister and come off," Anne Marie's mother told ABC. "Being out in the summertime is just not going to happen." Public pools are off limits, too. 

The family failed to raise enough money to build a pool. So Bethany decided to raise money by selling rubber band jewelry through a Facebook group called "Bracelets by Bethany."

"I believe she raised that money in 19 weeks," Cox said.

Now, Anne Marie frolics with friends, family and Barbies in a safe pool that helps soothe her blisters. Her mom reportedly wept as she told a KATV reporter that her daughter had never been able to play in a pool before. 

Bethany has already found a new charitable cause to fill the time between pool dates. According to her Facebook page, she's raising money to cover the expenses of a family who lost a father and a son. 

 
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