6-year-old girl holds bake sale in support of best friend

Olivia Robinson (left) and Mallory Armstrong at last year's bake sale.

Olivia Robinson, 6, may not fully understand diabetes, but she knows her best friend, Mallory Armstrong, has the disease and she wants to help.

Robinson and her mother, Monica, set up a bake sale last year in order to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Armstrong has Type-1 Diabetes.

Robinson will again raise money this Friday when she takes to the streets to sell baked goods again.

“I’m excited,” Robinson said. “We’re going to make cookies, brownies and my neighbor going to make some cranberry bread.”

Robinson and her mother participated in the three-mile Diabetes Walk last year in Jones Valley. They raised more than $100 last year, far surpassing the $25 goal.

The idea for the bake sale arose when Monica donated to the JDRF, but Robinson felt she wanted to personally contribute in some way.

“Olivia has got a lot of compassion for her friend,” Monica said. “While Olivia fully doesn’t understand, she knows that her friend has something that obviously she needs help and they need to find a cure. She wants to help and this is her contribution.”

The two girls, who both attend Columbia Elementary School, met in gymnastics class.

“She’s fun and she likes me helping her with trying to cure her disease,” Robinson said about Armstrong.  “I’m just glad that I can help.”

The bake sale will be in the Walden Preserve subdivision this Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Three things you should all know about diabetes:

1. It is an autoimmune disease.

2. It is not obtained by eating excessive amounts of sugar or lack of exercise.

3. It is a disease that requires constant monitoring and attention.