Carrie Underwood Surprises 7-Year-Old Fan With $5,000 Donation

Carrie Underwood surprised a young fan during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show this week, teaming up with host Drew Barrymore to donate a total of $10,000 to 7-year-old Hayley Orlinsky's local children's hospital. Hayley is from Chicago and last year decided to start selling homemade bracelets to raise money for the hospital after hearing that frontline workers were running out of personal protective equipment amid the pandemic. With an initial goal of $200, Hayley has now raised over $27,000.

"I wish so much that I could be looking at you face-to-face, in-person right now," Underwood told the 7-year-old, who had named Underwood's "Before He Cheats" as her favorite song. "You're adorable! You're a perfect example — it doesn't matter how old you are, where you are, whatever it is that you're into. You took your love of making bracelets and you used it to make the world a better place, so yay Hayley!"

After Hayley's mom Lori told Underwood that her daughter was crying, the singer exclaimed, "I'm gonna cry!" To support Hayley and her community, Barrymore shared that she would be contributing $5,000 which Underwood matched with a donation from her new partner Bodyarmor Lyte.

"That's gonna help the hospital and that's gonna help with vaccinations, and we are so thankful," Lori shared, as Hayley said, "Wow!" Lori previously told Barrymore that she "can't even tell you how proud we are" of her daughter. "Initially, I thought this would keep her busy for two hours and then I thought it would keep her busy for a few days, and we are going on 10 months of uninterrupted time."

Hayley told Barrymore that she got the idea to start the project when she overheard a news report about healthcare workers running out of PPE. "I really wanted to help but I didn't know how so I ran up to my room and made these friendship bracelets and I told my mom, 'I want to sell them and raise money for one of the hospitals.'"

The 7-year-old has since sold over 10,000 bracelets, and the money she raised has gone to the hospital where she spent time in the NICU as an infant. Lori explained that her daughter was bullied when she was 3 years old for being the "shortest kid in class," and as a result, Hayley is "empathetic." "She's been there and she feels all the feels," she explained, noting that prior to the pandemic, she and her daughter would travel to schools and libraries to discuss spreading kindness. "This is the ultimate act of kindness."