St. Joseph 3rd-graders rally around classmate’s fundraiser for Children’s Hospital
By Bill Brewer
There aren’t any hearts two sizes too small in the third grade at St. Joseph School: only hearts three sizes larger.
Hattie Halter, alias Cindy-Lou Who, stands next to the Grinch-themed Christmas tree she and her classmates created for the Fantasy of Trees to benefit East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and its pediatric cancer-treatment program. (Photo courtesy Melissa Halter)
How can you tell? Just look at the Grinch-themed Christmas tree the students in Jenifer Ingram’s class created to raise money for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville and its cancer-treatment program.
Third-grader Hattie Halter is the inspiration behind the classroom project that has brought Christmas joy not only to the St. Joseph community but also to people throughout East Tennessee who saw Hattie, her classmates, and their heart-filled Christmas tree featured in a news segment on local station WBIR-TV.
Hattie, who many would say has all the qualities of Cindy-Lou Who (bright, friendly, energetic, hopeful, and a strong believer in the true spirit of Christmas), has an especially close connection to Children’s Hospital. She is a patient ambassador there, telling the public about all the good things happening at the pediatric medical center while regularly visiting patients, a youthful lay ministry she knows something about.
A divinely inspired kinship
Hattie, who is 8, was a Children’s Hospital patient herself. And as a cancer survivor, she knows all too well about the health center that has saved her life.
“I remember that I had cancer and I was in Children’s Hospital. I had leukemia. Other kids had cancer, and I prayed for the other kids who had cancer, too,” Hattie said while sitting in Mrs. Ingram’s classroom after the class Christmas tree was displayed at the popular Fantasy of Trees, an annual holiday festival held at the Knoxville Convention Center that raises money for Children’s Hospital.
As a patient ambassador, Hattie sees her “friends” quite often when she is at the hospital.
Even though Hattie’s cancer is in remission, she is at Children’s frequently for blood tests to monitor the remission, which is in its seventh year.
St. Joseph School third-grader Hattie Halter is interviewed in her classroom by a WBIR-TV reporter. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Rankin/St. Joseph School)
Hattie was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia when she was 9 months old. She was treated with chemotherapy at Children’s Hospital and received a bone-marrow transplant at TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, where she also received radiation treatments and chemotherapy. Although the Halter family lives in Knoxville, Hattie was in Nashville for three months receiving life-giving care. Now, she goes to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital for checkups every six months.
“I need to get blood work because Mr. Jack, he had to give me some of his blood, so I have to get blood work every few weeks,” Hattie said, referring to her bone-marrow donor.
She continues to receive regular medical care at Children’s for complications from the cancer treatment.
As part of that process, Hattie is an ambassador for Children’s Hospital. So, you might see photos or videos of her on the hospital’s marketing materials. She is basically a spokesperson for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital,” said Melissa Halter, Hattie’s mother, who serves as a learning specialist and an assistant to intermediate grades at St. Joseph School.
When her mom asked her to describe what she does as a patient ambassador, Hattie said, “We give stuff to people like cards that have me on them and posters and free stuff to get people to buy things that help Children’s Hospital.”
As a 1-year-old, Hattie Halter received cancer treatment and a bone-marrow transplant while in hospitals in Knoxville and Nashville. Hattie has been cancer-free for seven years. (Photo courtesy Melissa Halter)
Hattie said she likes Children’s Hospital, and she knows the staff there likes her, too.
Mrs. Halter explained that for the 2025 edition of Fantasy of Trees, the fundraising focus was on hematology oncology—cancer of the blood—so participation in the event by Hattie and her classmates was a divinely inspired kinship.
Hattie’s mother, holding back tears, described with pride her daughter and the third-grader’s courageous efforts. Hattie works hard in class, but the (ophthalmology and endocrinology) complications from her cancer treatment make normal challenges in school doubly difficult.
“She is amazing. And she exudes sunshine. Her gift from God, I feel like, is the way she makes other people feel. It’s her words of affirmation and how she is so kind and loving to all and accepting to all. That isn’t something that everyone has,” Mrs. Halter said.
Heart and soul
Mrs. Halter recalls a Diocese of Knoxville orientation workshop where educational priorities were enumerated for diocesan educators. And while educational excellence was a top priority, it was placed in context.
Hattie shows a T-shirt she helped create for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, where she is a patient ambassador. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Rankin/St. Joseph School)
“On the PowerPoint, it said ‘Heaven, not Harvard.’ I live by that now because heaven is more important than Harvard. If you can get both, that’s fine. But for me, Hattie sends that energy, and she has that gift that she shares with others. I think that’s why Children’s Hospital wanted her to represent them. They took such good care of her,” Mrs. Halter said. “She is cancer-free. She has her side effects, but she is cancer-free.”
Mrs. Halter is equally complimentary and grateful to St. Joseph School for the care and attention given to Hattie and her younger brother, Job, who is in preschool.
“I and my husband, John, wanted God for them in their education and all the things that are included. St. Joseph is a blessing. They are so accommodating and loving and caring. The whole community has been accepting. And that’s why we love it here at St. Joseph,” Mrs. Halter said.
The hundreds of Christmas trees featured at the Fantasy of Trees event are sold, with the money raised going to Children’s Hospital. Prices range from $75 to $3,500 for the larger, more elaborately decorated trees. The three-foot Christmas tree Mrs. Ingram’s class created—and all those of similar size—sold for $75.
Room parent Amanda Thurman, whose daughter, Finley, is a third-grader and a friend of Hattie, approached Mrs. Halter and suggested creating a Christmas tree for the Fantasy of Trees since the Halters have such a close connection to Children’s Hospital.
The class voted to take on the project and also voted on the theme and the color of the tree. Mrs. Thurman collected the money donated by all the room parents, purchased all of the supplies to make the artificial tree, and directed the creative process, which involved making the tree and all the tree decorations.
“The class chose the Grinch theme basically to focus on how the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes. So, the tree is centered around the heart—a lot of hearts,” Mrs. Halter said.
Hattie explained how the class put its heart and soul into the Dr. Seuss-themed Christmas-tree, which was strong on heart with just a hint of Grinch.
St. Joseph School’s third grade created this Dr. Seuss-themed Christmas tree to benefit Children’s Hospital. The message the third-graders are conveying with their tree is that the Grinch’s heart expanded three times its size as he grew to love Christmas. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Rankin/St. Joseph School)
“We did it in our art class. We made the ornaments with little necklace things and little plastic cards. We put bows and little sticky hearts on the front. And we put little pompoms, green or red, in the ornaments,” Hattie said.
She pointed out that just as the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes, her and her classmates’ hearts also grew as they made their Christmas tree.
“It was white. And we made the green and red ornaments. It was fun,” she said.
Mrs. Ingram has been excited—and grateful—that the room parents, led by Mrs. Halter and Mrs. Thurman, took on such a worthwhile project that was meaningful to the third-graders and many others.
“I thought it was a great idea. So, we decided in September that we would do this project and came up with the theme of the Grinch and his heart growing three times bigger. Everyone in the class was part of it. On the tree, there is a heart that the kids painted that shows the heart growing with three different sizes. Then there’s a heart that they stuffed with pompoms, and then there are some wreaths. And here at Christmas time, we watched the Grinch to present that message to the kids. We thought it was a nice thing for our class to do,” Mrs. Ingram said.
Mrs. Ingram also was gratified that the class Christmas tree was age-appropriate in size and theme.
The project’s significance went beyond Hattie and her “friends” at Children’s Hospital.
Mrs. Ingram shared that as the project began, there were two other students in the class who also are cancer survivors.
“These kids really embraced the project and are supportive of each other. They know there are times when Hattie might need some extra support. They help each other. They are like a family. It’s a really neat group of kids,” she said.
And in her own way, Hattie stands out at St. Joseph.
“She’s an awesome kid. You can say so many amazing things about her. She is a hard worker, but she just has this bright light about her spirit, and it’s contagious. And I think that is the best thing about her. She is so happy, and she has this way of speaking that is just joyful. She will give you a hug, and she just makes you feel good. She is like that with her friends, but she also is like that with her teachers. She is such a compassionate kid,” Mrs. Ingram said.
Something to remember
Hattie and her family attended the Fantasy of Trees to see the third-grade class’ creation on display. And Hattie had her picture taken with the tree.
“It was tilting a little like the real Grinch when he stole the Christmas tree. We added a pretend star on top, and it was pretty,” Hattie noted. “I was excited to see it.”
She was curious to know what Job, who is 4, thought of the class project. She believes he approves.
“Maybe he thinks it’s cool. I think he likes it. My brother, Harvey, likes the Grinch, too. He’s 2 years old and he loves the Grinch,” Hattie said.
She also hopes her friends at Children’s Hospital like it—both the patients and those helping the patients get well.
St. Joseph School principal Andy Zengel, kneeling left, is with Melissa Halter, back center, third-grade teacher Jenifer Ingram, and some of Mrs. Ingram’s students, including Hattie Halter, who is wearing a St. Joseph Bulldogs shirt, in Mrs. Ingram’s classroom. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Rankin/St. Joseph School)
“I was on the news, and I was showing other people who saw me on the news how we made the tree for the kids’ hospital. And the kids who had surgery at the kids’ hospital might see it, too, because I had cancer, too. The Grinch tree was at the Fantasy of Trees and they got to see it, and it was very important to the kids’ hospital,” Hattie explained.
Mrs. Halter is very pleased with how the class project turned out, and she is hopeful that it can be repeated next year when the third-graders are in the fourth grade.
“I feel like a great thing came out of it. Not only did we do a great thing, we want to continue to do a great thing. And we also inspired others to want to do a great thing by possibly doing it every year,” she said.
Hattie agrees. She and Finley hope they can persuade Mrs. Thurman to give a repeat performance for the fourth grade.
“Maybe Finley’s mom can have a different idea for a tree for next year,” Hattie said.
Someone else who also agrees is St. Joseph School principal Andy Zengel. Mr. Zengel watched with excitement as the project successfully came together.
“We make a real effort to provide service opportunities for our students here, but it’s always impressive when students and families initiate a project and bring it to the school to get their classmates involved,” he said. “If you have kids and you live in Knoxville, chances are you’ve visited East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and benefited from the wonderful work they do there. Hattie and some of our other students have spent a lot of their childhood there. They know how important it is for kids to feel loved and cared for during a time of fear and suffering, and so they want to help the hospital provide that. It’s beautiful.”
And as for Mrs. Ingram’s third-grade class, the Grinch Christmas tree is already a highlight of the school year that has created a ripple effect.
The project inspired by Hattie is teaching an important lesson.
“A mission of the school is to give back. And the kids have such a great connection to this opportunity to do a project that brings awareness to them to give back to other children who are in a tough situation,” Mrs. Ingram pointed out. “They see how they are reaching outside of the classroom, outside of our school. I think they are enjoying that and it’s something they will really remember. I know I will remember it.”