First-grader Dylan Siegel hopes his charitable venture will lead to
a cure for his best friend.
To 6-year-old Dylan Siegel of Los Angeles, Jonah Pournazarian is
a 1-in-a-million kid. So why not try to raise $1 million for his
best friend?Jonah, 7, has a rare liver condition called
glycogen storage disease type 1B, for which there is no
cure. The disease affects about 1 in a million people. Dylan
is determined to raise money to find a cure, one chocolate bar at a
time.
Dylan uses the term “chocolate bar” to mean “awesome.” The
first-grader has written a 16-page book — titled “Chocolate
Barr“ —
that he hopes will sell enough copies to help his friend.
“I suggested that he set up a lemonade stand,” Dylan’s mother,
Debra Siegel, told the jewish journal, “but he said he wanted
to write a book.”
After just two months on the market, sales of the handwritten and
illustrated book, along with donated chocolate bars, have
raised $30,000, and Dylan’s goal is $1 million, Dylan’s father,
David Siegel, told ABC News.
“We never dreamed that this was going to happen,” David Siegel was
quoted as saying. “It’s just struck a nerve and now we don’t want
to stop until we’ve hit our mission.”
The 16-page book’s first entry reads: “I like to go to Disney Land.
That is so Chocolate Bar.” It then goes into other “chocolate bar”
experiences, including going swimming and to the
aquarium. It ends with “I like to help my friends. That is the
biggest chocolate bar.”
Dylan’s charitable venture has gotten a boost from media
exposure.
The boys appeared on the CBS television show “The Doctors” last
week and have also been the subject of stories on national
broadcast and print media.
“Chocolate Bar” has a Facebook page, a Twitter
account, a YouTube video
