Nora Deffenbaugh recently sacrificed in a big way for her younger brother, Luke Deffenbaugh.

Nora, who recently celebrated her tenth birthday, chose to take up donations to honor her brother for her birthday.

“I set up a fundraiser on Facebook for my birthday,” said Nora.

Charlie and Laura Deffenbaugh have known for a while their almost 3-year-old son Luke is unique, and they will have the opportunity in February to take him to the University of South Alabama to be evaluated.

The fundraising efforts of Nora serve to help others like Luke receive the support they need.

“She volunteered or did community service with Stacey’s foundation Make A Way this summer, and it really touched her heart,” said Laura. This led Nora to decide to set up a Facebook fundraiser for her birthday to honor Luke.

“She was there with us during the summer, and she just really wanted to do this to help other kids that might be like Luke,” said Laura.

Understandably, Charlie and Laura are proud of Nora for her selflessness.

“I’m super proud of her,” said Charlie. “She’s always liked to help people from a young age, and she enjoys learning and I’m proud of her for that.”

In February, the Deffenbaughs will head to South Alabama to participate in a four day long evaluation in hopes of receiving a diagnosis for Luke.

A diagnosis is important for the Deffenbaughs insurance to aid in some of the costs of support for Luke.

“The different therapies, most people find themselves paying out of pocket for that because insurance just doesn’t want to pay unless you have a strong diagnosis,” explained Laura. “We’re just kind of waiting to see what they decide. We know Luke is special; he teaches us every day that happiness is found in the simplest moments every single day. He’s precious.”

“I want him to have everything he needs. So that’s why it’s important to have a diagnosis,” said Charlie.

The Deffenbaughs are grateful for Stacey Givens’ Make A Away Foundations and foundations like it who serve to help families like theirs receive the support they need.

“We’ve all seen firsthand what Stacey does through her foundation for kids like Luke and they’re just making a huge difference, huge impact on the special needs community and supporting parents and their families in the process,” said Laura.

Charlie reflected Laura’s sentiment saying, “it’s just amazing what they can do, you know, they really enjoy doing what they do and can make a big difference.”