Girl gets Spirit of Detroit Award for idea that brought Halloween to sick kids

DETROIT (WXYZ) - At a Detroit City Council meeting Tuesday morning, little Rielly Rudolph received the Spirit of Detroit Award.

The 5-year-old’s desire to help other children has caught a lot of adults’ attention in recent months.

Detroit City Council member James Tate is calling her,  “Truly someone who embodies the spirit of Detroit.”

Her favorite holiday is Halloween and she was worried sick children would not be able to dress up in costumes and trick-or-treat like so many other kids are able to do.

So Rielly organized a project called No Carve Pumpkin Creations back in October 2011.  It quickly gained momentum. Compuware donated pumpkins and Rielly and her schoolmates helped paint and decorate them.

In all, one hundred and fifty pumpkins were given to the kids at Children’s Hospital in Detroit.

“I’m so proud of her it’s just amazing to see this little girl just receive this sort of love she’s gotten from the community, from the city of Detroit,” said Rielly’s father David Rudolph.

The act of kindness helped  brighten many patients’ spirits. Her parents say they hope her mission encourages others to do good deeds.

“There are more kids like that in the city and we just need to uplift them, push them, encourage them because eventually good kids turn into good adults,” said David Rudolph.

Rielly was a little shy in front of the 7 Action News camera but she admitted it feels good to be acknowledged for her hard work.

“I’m really happy,” she said.

Rielly and her parents want to make her project an annual event.