My name is Emi Carpenter, a senior at Orono High School, and for the second year, I’m raising funds for Children’s Minnesota—a place that has been a lifeline for my three younger sisters and our entire family. My sisters, Bhanu, Eden, and Isla, all have Thalassemia Major - a blood disorder that requires transfusions about every four weeks. We adopted Bhanu from India in 2017 when she was three years old. Two years later, my parents were made aware of two-year-old twins in China—Eden and Isla—who also had Thalassemia and needed a family. We made the decision to move forward with the adoption, growing our family to seven.

This past year marked a remarkable milestone: on October 31, 2025, Bhanu received a bone marrow transplant using her own genetically modified cells. After five weeks in the hospital, she is now recovering at home and well on her way to being cured—no longer needing transfusions. Seeing this life-changing care in action has been truly inspiring.

The care Bhanu, Eden, and Isla receive at Children’s Minnesota has helped them not just survive, but truly thrive. Children’s has supported our family through the hardest and most hopeful moments, and this fundraiser is my way of giving back to the clinic that changed our lives—times three.

With your support, children like my sisters can continue receiving the life-saving, life-changing care they deserve. Please consider donating. For their sakes, give times three — Triple the Impact, Triple the Hope!

See the video below from the 2023 Star Gala, where my family was featured: