HUNTSVILLE, Ala – Running a race to raise money for a cause is an amazing feat for most adults, but how would you react if you heard an 11-year-old girl was doing it? Kaitlyn Lee has been running to help kids with cancer since she was 7-years-old and she hopes by the end of the year she can reach a very special donation benchmark.

Kaitlyn loves to run. “I think we’ve run over 45 races this year,” her mom, Nina Lee said.

She runs 5-K’s, 10-K’s and has even completed half marathons for a good cause.

“I had a feeling that I wanted to help because I realized there were people that didn’t have everything that we had in our everyday lives,” Kaitlyn Lee said.

She runs to raise money for the Jessie Rees Foundation, an organization that supports kids battling cancer by providing Joy Jars.

What’s a Joy Jar? Nina says they are “pretty decent sized jars and they fill them with all sorts of toys, and hats, or silly socks, and just age appropriate things, just to kind of give them a little boost of joy while they’re having a bad day.”

Kaitlyn has a very special end of year wish. She hopes she can meet her goal of raising $50,000. “We’re only $1,500 away in matched donations from meeting my goal.”

When she meets that goal she is going to celebrate by shaving her head.

“I can’t wait to have to not do my hair in the morning and just be like, done. And it gives me more of an opportunity to tell people what I do because people will just be like, ‘Why did you shave your head?'”

Needless to say, her family is extremely proud.

“It’s been great to see and it’s amazing to see how many people she inspires along the way as well,” Nina Lee said.

Kaitlyn says this goal is just another step in her journey as she uses an activity she loves to give back to the community. She will be taking to the streets this weekend for her cause as she takes part in the Rudolf Run in Huntsville.

To give Kaitlyn a donation, visit this link. Learn more about Kaitlyn on her Facebook page.