The Rotary Club of Ambler selected Mallea Kelly ’27 as its Student of the Month, recognizing her long-standing dedication to helping children at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) through her project, Candy Fights Cancer.

Kelly first came up with the idea when she was only nine years old—she wanted to collect candy for children who were unable to go outside and trick-or-treat on Halloween. She and her dedicated team of volunteers have been delivering candy to CHOP ever since.

The project is simple but meaningful. Volunteers bag lots of candy into Halloween goodie bags before delivering them for hospital-based trick-or-treating. For children facing serious illness, that small gesture can be powerful. Said Kelly, “They appreciate anything that for a moment makes their world feel normal, less like a patient and more like a kid.”

Her commitment to helping hospitalized children is shaped by personal experience. “For the last seven years, I've been bouncing in and out of hospitals to help take care of people in my life,” she shared. Spending so much time in those settings gave her a firsthand look at what many young patients endure. “I'd walk around the hospitals, and I'd see patients that were my age and younger. It felt horrible that they were in there for special occasions like Halloween and birthdays.” She added, “I wasn't sick, and I felt like I had the luxury to be able to leave. I knew that I couldn't get in there and do heart surgery or cure cancer, so I came up with something that I could do to help.”

The Rotary Club, which is a global network of leaders and professionals that is united by the belief “Service Above Self,” honors young people who demonstrate exceptional service to others. Kelly’s continual effort, empathy, and initiative made her an obvious choice. Her compassion and creativity will continue to brighten the lives of children