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"  Working behind the scenes on the first three Harry Potter movies was thrilling for Paula DuPre&amp;#039; Pesmen. But what really gave her goosebumps were the days when kids with life-threatening illnesses were whisked to the set for a day of magical escapism. She loved when the makeup artists placed lightning bolts on the foreheads of the tiny patients and gave them their own Hogwarts robes. But talking to the kids&amp;#039; families brought harsh reality crashing down: &amp;quot;I remember saying to one parent, &amp;#039;You must have so many people helping you out,&amp;#039; and he responded, &amp;#039;Are you kidding? People aren&amp;#039;t calling; they&amp;#039;re not coming over. We&amp;#039;re living every parent&amp;#039;s worst nightmare,&amp;#039;&amp;quot; says Paula, whose own husband battled colon cancer 11 years ago. &amp;quot;I realized that these families really needed help.&amp;quot; So in 2005, she quit her job as an associate producer and returned home to Boulder, CO, to start There With Care, a nonprofit that lightens the load for parents of critically ill children. More than 500 volunteers in Boulder and, now, the San Francisco Bay area tackle everyday tasks like delivering cooked meals, baby sitting the families&amp;#039; other kids, and giving rides to chemo appointments. Beth Krodel remembers the moment last spring when her 4-year-old son was diagnosed with lymphoma: &amp;quot;Paula went home for us, fed our cats, and filled a suitcase with our clothes so we could stay overnight,&amp;quot; says Beth. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m so grateful that she was there to handle the stuff we were too preoccupied to think about.&amp;quot; You can help bring hope and support to many more families--just go to therewithcare.org/how-to-help to get involved. 4 MORE WAYS TO HELP SICK KIDS: 1. Selllemonade with your kids and send the money you bank to Alex&amp;#039;s Lemonade Stand Foundation (alexslemonade.org/get_involved), a group started in honor of Alexandra Scott, who passed away from neuroblastoma when she was 8 years old. Since 2004, the group has raised an astounding $50 million for children&amp;#039;s cancer research. 2. Volunteer to cook meals or host fun events at one of more than 175 Ronald McDonald Houses (rmhc.org/how-you-can-help/volunteer), where families can stay for little or no cost if their child is hospitalized far from home. 3. Cheer up a kid in treatment by sending a toy directly to a children&amp;#039;s hospital in your area. Go to childsplaycharity.org/donate to find out how. 4. Encourage your kids to send a birthday card to the sibling of a sick child through SuperSibs! Go to supersibs.org and click on &amp;quot;Get Involved.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s hard to watch my brother go through this,&amp;quot; says Aidan, 11, whose 14-year-old brother has a brain tumor. &amp;quot;But getting packages from SuperSibs! makes me happy. He has three months left of treatment, then we&amp;#039;ll play hockey again. He&amp;#039;s my best friend.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/charity/tips/a13954/how-to-help-sick-children/>