Andrea Billups

"There are kids who go into foster care every day and they have the clothes on their back and that is it," LeeAnn Petersen tells PEOPLE

Bob Charland, who has an incurable brain disease, has donated more than 300 bikes to deserving children

When Lesia Cartelli was 9 years old, she was severely burned in a gas explosion at her grandparents' home in East Detroit

Cornell seemed different, the photog noticed

"We have a mission that is universally easy to understand," says founder Megan Yunn. "We all have birthdays.. It's not about lavishness, it's just about the notion that there are genuinely good people out there and we want to be able to support these families."

"For a little bit of time, Phoebe wasn't worried when she had to go get labs next or take medicine," Cole Dooley says of his daughter, who has a brain tumor and got a home princess visit. "She got to be a little kid."

"These families we serve, for many, if they miss their job, they lose their job," Richard Nares says. "We've seen how some had to either give up food or be late on utility bills or rent because they would have to give their neighbors gas money just for a ride to the hospital. We wanted to help them."

"Oscar was happiest when he was playing," mom Sharon Litwak says of her late son. "We know how important play is, especially for sick kids."