Top of the Town 2012

It’s not often you find a hero who hasn’t even hit high school yet—and all the more touching when you do. At age six, Allison Winn was diagnosed with brain cancer. After battling through surgery and chemotherapy (Allison drew a “stinkbug” at the end of her chemo to represent all the icky things she was enduring, and “bye-bye stink bug” became her words of self-encouragement), she slowly recovered with the help of a companion: her dog, Coco. Knowing the important role Coco played in her healing, Allison, now 12, made it her mission to help other children with life-threatening illnesses by raising money to buy them their own therapy dogs. She started small, selling lemonade and house-made dog biscuits in front of her house. By the end of summer 2009, she had raised nearly $1,000—enough to adopt and train two dogs and give them to cancer-stricken kids. Today, in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation, the Stink Bug Project continues to help families adopt pooches from the Colorado Correctional Industries Prison Trained K9 Companion Program, where inmates teach commands to rescue dogs. Help Allison’s cause by donating or purchasing her dog biscuits at local animal hospitals, shops, and markets; visit the website for retail locations. stinkbugproject.org