Our very own patient, Annabella, is making headlines for her kind heart and was even featured on a WBRZ news segment!

The Sherman & Balhoff community is full of the most kind, selfless, and caring people. We are so proud of Annabella for what she is doing in her neighborhood. Annabella has always had a passion for gardening, but ever since the schools have stopped meeting on campus she has used her extra time at home to multiply the size of her garden. With all of her new growing space, this sixth grade wonder woman has begun to share her plants and crop with her neighbors! SO AWESOME!

Checkout the article from wbrz.com below:

Yellow monster, super banana supreme, and sweet chocolate don’t sound like tomato names, but for 12-year-old Annabella Perk, they are very familiar.

The St. Jude sixth-grader has a passion for the fruits that have taken over her front yard. Though Annabella started gardening when she was just 4 years old, her hobby has grown into a map for her future.

“When I grow up, I want to be a garden-to-table chef with my own restaurant. And I want to experiment with types of fruits and vegetables I want for my menu when I grow up,” she said.

The garden is flourishing during a time where Annabella has been out of school and stuck at home.

“It’s been better because at the very beginning, I only had four raised beds. And in the last eight days, I’ve built six extra raised beds; so now I have 10 beds to grow all my different kinds of tomatoes.”

Building each bed herself, she now has room for nearly 80 varieties of tomatoes.

Others have taken notice and even lent a hand to help spruce things up.

“So this sign was made from one of my mom’s friends that’s a teacher, and these laminated signs are from all my mom’s students.”

But it’s not just something she’s doing to pass the time. Annabella is using her skills to help people in her neighborhood.

“The elderly people couldn’t go out during this time, and they always had these tomatoes coming by and everything. And they just couldn’t plant this year, so I started giving away tomatoes… I was at 100 and now I’m at 22.”

And she is hoping to do even more once her crops mature.

“If I have an abundance of tomatoes, I’m going to give them to charities or single moms that need help giving food to their children.”