Six-year-old Allie Martinez wanted to give back after she saw a picture of a wounded Marine on a flyer for the Semper Fi Fund.
With a little help from her mother, Nadia, the first grader started a fundraiser selling bracelets to benefit the organization. At $5 a bracelet, her original goal was to raise $500. But, she sold 200 bracelets in just five days and instead raised $1,000.
Allie and her family have been in Beaufort since May 2011, and she is the daughter of Staff Sgt. Eric Martinez who works with a weapons and field training battalion on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. She attends Elliott Elementary School in Laurel Bay and is also a dance student at the Low Country School of Performing Arts.
“She wanted to do something for those who serve our country, just like her father,” said Nadia. “At the same time, she was thankful her daddy came home safe after three tours in Iraq and one to Afghanistan.”
Allie packed all the orders of bracelets herself, and will make the donation to the Semper Fi Fund on Thanksgiving Day.
