Using Art to Make a Wish

12-year-old sells artwork, donates proceeds to Make-A-Wish Foundation

A Flower Mound girl is making dreams come true for sick children.

Janvi Shahi, 12, sells artwork and donates all of the proceeds to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The 12-year-old says she does it to give back to the foundation, which granted her wish when she battled leukemia.

Janvi said art is more than a passion. It's a gift.

"I am a little shocked," she said. "Sometimes, I will make the painting and be like, 'I didn't do that.'"

So far, the seventh-grader has raised $45,000 for Make-A-Wish.

"A lot of people will say, 'We need a Janvi in our house,'" said her mother, Manu Shahi.

"It makes me feel good that I'm helping someone else," Janvi said.

Janvi, who has been diagnosed with leukemia twice, said she can relate to the sick children.

"I think the worst shock was the second time she was diagnosed," her mother said.

Shahi said Make-A-Wish brought a smile to her daughter's face during the darkest days when it sent the family to Disney World.

"That was truly a magical moment," Shahi said.

Today, Janvi wants to spread magical moments. She does it by selling her artwork, but her dreams are big.

"I want to be an oncologist at Duke and help others that are going through the same thing I went through, so I can relate to them, and they can relate to me," she said.

But artwork will always be a part of her life, Janvi said.

"Some people say I can have a part-time job," she said.

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