photo by Jim Miller
She’s pre-teen with the voice of an angel and a heart of gold. She’s Santa Clarita resident Hailey Belle.
After participating in a ZOE Children’s Homes walk last November, Hailey decided to record a CD. In fact, she recorded her first song that same afternoon.
“I love to sing and I wanted to hear what I sounded like, but my parents wanted a recording of my 11 year old voice to see how much I would grow over the years.”
What was meant to be a one song recording session turned into three songs. “I recorded the song on the first take, so we did two more songs and I was done in 30 minutes,” states Hailey. Two of the three songs recorded that afternoon are on Hailey’s current CD, Here I Come.
After five months of recording, and a month to get the CD finished and copied, the 11 year old decided to accept donations for the CD last June. “Since June, I have raised $1,129,” states Hailey.
And what would your typical pre-teen do with all the funds raised? Hailey decided to donate to ZOE Children’s Homes, an international organization that rescues and cares for children who are sold or at risk of being sold, into prostitution slavery, orphaned or victims of other crimes and abuse worldwide. “Both my school and my church stress the importance of doing community service so I’m always looking for ways I can contribute. Last year, when I did the ZOE Rescue Walk, I learned about how these children are sold into slavery, and days later I couldn’t get these kids out of my head.” Hailey continues, “I just felt so bad for them, and I told my mom how helpless I felt because I was just 11 years old and I didn’t have any money or anything, but I wanted to help.”
With her giving heart and beautiful voice, Hailey’s mother, Nikki, reminded her daughter that she had talent. Together they came up with the idea of making the CDs and offering them to anyone who would donate $5 or more to the organization.
It has been nearly a year since Hailey recorded her first song and she is asking the community to come join her at ZOE’s Rescue Walk this November. “I will be at the Rescue Walk this year on November 9, and I hope ZOE will let me continue to support them in the future.”
The ZOE Rescue Walk will take place on Saturday, November 9 at Newhall Park. The event will begin at 9 a.m. To register, visit www.zoerescuewalk.com. For more information about Hailey Belle, you can find her public page on facebook. |
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