SpringfieldNewsSun.com

A simple youth group summer exercise in goodwill and selflessness turned into an extreme act of love and charity.

Tremont City 9-year-old William Miller raised nearly $3,000 to give to his 29-year-old cousin who has stage 4 breast cancer for the third time.

Lawrenceville Church of God youth were given $5, which they were not allowed to spend on themselves. They were told to do something charitable with it and to make it grow. Miller was determined to do just that.

"He took seriously the challenge we gave him," said the Rev. Allan Cain. "He just wanted to make a difference."

Miller decided he would, with the help of his parents and grandmother, conduct a bake sale and give the profits to his cousin Melissa McLaughlin.

"It was because he was being observant ... We just thought it was great," said his father, Robert Miller. "You never think your kids are really listening to you talk."

No one knew the extent to which William Miller would succeed in raising money. Any money he could give his cousin would be wonderful, but his goal was high, his parents said.

He kept saying he wanted to make $2,000. His parents told him he should shoot for $500. Nobody really knew if he'd even make that much from a bake sale.

"We decided to make some candy and sell it to the family, but it just snowballed," said Letha Miller, William Miller's grandmother. "Everybody wanted a part of it. This went beyond family and friends and into the community. ... Everyone knew and supported him 100 percent."

An aunt sent an e-mail about William Miller's project to some out-of-state-friends, and he started receiving monetary donations from all over the nation.

"Total strangers were giving Willie money for his cause," Robert Miller said.

In the end, with family and friends gathered around, William Miller presented his oldest cousin with a small pink and white Igloo lunch cooler filled with bills totaling $2,755.

"There was not a dry eye in the backyard," said Robert Miller.

McLaughlin posted on her blog, "more important than the money though, this gift fulfilled a bigger need in my life right now. It's a beautiful thing when a 9-year-old does a better job expressing (love) than many adults"

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0349 or sjacobson@coxohio.com.