Pay it forward: Children have the power to make a difference

In many ways, the joint birthday party in late January for 8-year old Sofia Segalla and her best friend, Clara Goulding, was full of traditional fun.

What was unusual, and truly inspiring about Sofia and Clara's party, however, is that in lieu of gifts, the girls requested that donations be made to a Chicago-based nonprofit, Friends of the Orphans, to help children in need in Haiti who were affected by the country's devastating January 2010 earthquake. The birthday guests contributed approximately $900 to St. Damien's Pediatric Hospital.