10-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Donates More Than 10,000 Toys to Charity

She started the charity in 2015 and it has only grown each year.

This 10-year-old may have found herself swimming in a sea of gifts, but the presents are not for her. 

A total of 10,323 toys and games were collected by Sadie Keller for her Christmas donation program, called Sadie’s Sleigh. 

Her philanthropic venture began three years ago, when she received a devastating diagnosis. 

"They told my parents, 'Sadie has leukemia,' and I didn't know what that meant,” she told Inside Edition. 

Her mother recalled how she told her daughter the heartbreaking news. 

"Sadie was sitting on my lap and she whispered in my ear, and she said, ‘Momma, am I gonna die?’ And I was hysterical and of course I said, ‘No baby, you're not gonna die,’ but deep down I didn't know,” her mother said. 

Sadie went through chemotherapy and through her ordeal she remained upbeat, vowing to give back to kids in a similar situation, so she decided to have a toy drive.

In 2015, people all over the nation donated 1,300 toys to the Sadie Keller Foundation.

In 2016, the number reached 5,000.

And this year, she got more than 10,000 toys and games. 

"I was like, 'Woah!' I never thought this would get this big,” she said.

And the spirit of giving is not limited to the holidays, as she also collects items year-round as part of her Milestone Gifts program. 

This year, there are so many toys that they need two moving trucks to transport everything, leaving her parents speechless. 

The toys were distributed to children at four hospitals in the Dallas area, including the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. For the kids, many of whom are fighting for their lives, it's a joyful break from treatment.

Sadie, who is now cancer-free, rigorously advocates for childhood cancer awareness, hoping to change how much funding goes towards research. Right now, only 4 percent of all funds for all cancer research is geared toward childhood cancer.

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