Princess Power

At an uncertain time, these young women offer kids a little magic—and hope

- Ashley Lewis

“ELSA, IT’S YOU!” It was the four-year-old’s surprise birthday party, and her favorite Disney character, Elsa from Frozen, had arrived. The two jubilantly began to sing the movie’s big song, “Let It Go,” and were soon joined by Tinker Bell and four other fairy-tale princesses: Anna, Ariel, Jasmine, and Snow White. You would swear you were celebrating at the most magical place on earth.

But this wasn’t Disney World. It was the pediatric cancer ward at a hospital on Long Island in New York. And the princesses were college students who volunteer for A Moment of Magic, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to lift the spirits of sick children.