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What SAE At UCLA Did For One Little Girl Will Give You All The Feels

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This Thanksgiving, one little girl was very thankful for something a little unusual –- a group of fraternity guys.

12-year-old Lexi Brown is fighting cancer, and on October 30, she was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center when it was discovered that her heart was only working at 15 percent. The room that Lexi was given overlooked the SAE house at UCLA, and that was the beginning of a truly heartwarming story.

One day, out of sheer boredom, Lexi and her mom Lisa, held a sign up to the window, asking for pizza. The next thing they knew, some SAE members showed up with not just pizza, but a dozen roses and a guitar. According to Lisa, “They introduced themselves and said, ‘We saw your sign; we’re here.’ They stayed for a half an hour, they sang this song and I started bawling my head off. I’m like, ‘I can’t believe these people are here for my child.’”

And it didn’t stop there: According to NBCNews, “The guys learned Lexi loves soccer, so one of the SAE members who is on the team arranged a visit from the squad. Josh Rosen, the quarterback of UCLA’s football team and an SAE brother, came by.” UCLA’s head football coach, Jim Mora, sent over game tickets for the day Lexi was released. Members of the university’s men’s and women’s rowing, swimming, and tennis teams, along with members of The Christian Campus Ministry and two sororities, visited Lexi as well — all arranged by the brothers of SAE. But the most consistent visitors Lexi had? The brothers themselves.

According to chapter president Kevin Autran,

When the brothers got back from visiting Lexi, you could see that they were all glowing, knowing that they had done something good for the community. It was contagious. And brothers stepped up to go visit her essentially every day. Some just stopped by to give her a little gift like a shirt or a teddy bear, and some stayed for hours to hang out with her.

The story caught the eye of NBC and their #ShareKindness Campaign when a family friend tweeted a piece of the SAE house, decorated for the season with Lexi in mind:

While her cancer battle continues, Lexi has since left the hospital, but SAE’s dedication to her hasn’t stopped. The brothers have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the Browns with their hospital bills.

Lexi’s mom is pretty impressed with the fraternity’s commitment to her little girl. She spoke out about the whole experience.

“We’re going through hell right now,” Lisa said. “But we don’t treat Lexi any different than we do our 14-year-old son, or these boys. I really gave them crap, and it has just been a joy in a time when we could have just sat there and cried, but we didn’t. I can’t even tell you. I never knew that so many young adults had it in them.”

To donate to Lexi, click here.

[via NBCNews]

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Jenna Crowley

Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, and documenting her love of all things cheese related. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at [email protected].

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