Colorado Girl's Nonprofit Comforts Cancer Patients

DENVER (CBS4) - Step Up for Cancer offers the chance to help out 40 different cancer organizations by walking the stairs at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Among those organizations, one young girl and her family will be furthering her dream of getting companion dogs for cancer patients.

Allison Winn, 10, lights up when she plays with her precious pooches, Coco and Moon.

"I think the best part of having a dog is you get to play with it," she told CBS4.

It's that kind of friendship that she wanted to give every cancer patient. That's why this young girl started a big project called the Stink Bug Project.

"I just really wanted to help people," Allison said.

In 2007, at the age of 6, she was diagnosed with a medullablastoma, a type of brain cancer. After 14-months of treatment, Allison referred to chemotherapy as "stink bug" and when she was almost done with treatment she drew a picture titled "Bye Bye Stink Bug". That inspired the name of her non-profit. It was the love her dogs that inspired the mission. Allison and her family sell homemade dog biscuits to raise money to pay for dog adoptions for kids with cancer. The dogs come from the Prison Trained K-9 program at Colorado Correctional Industries. She wants to provide the friend she wished she had when she was sick.

"Then I could think about the dog instead of chemo therapy," Allison added.

Allison and her family will be promoting the Stink Bug Project at Step Up for Cancer on Sunday, August 8th. Thousands of people will be walking the stairs at Dick's Sporting Goods Park to raise money and awareness for 40 Colorado cancer organizations. The event starts at 7 a.m. and runs to 11 a.m.

- Written for the Web by CBS4 Special Projects Producer Libby Smith