Friends plan to help children in East

MUNDELEIN, Ill. -- When 11-year-old Nick Dietrich heard about the tragedy in New York, he said he felt an urge to help.

"I just wanted to help clear the stuff out and try to find people who are still living," he said.

In the aftermath, 8-year-old Evan Ruffolo said he wanted to do something for the children affected by the tragedy.

"I felt bad because of all the people who died and the children who were orphaned," Evan said.

The boys' mothers, Tamara Ruffolo and Teresa Dietrich, are best friends and partners in a medical billing company. They helped the children put together a project that will reach out to orphans and other children affected by the Sept. 11 devastation.

The boys and their schoolmates at Santa Maria del Popolo and Fremont Elementary schools put together 1,000 Bags of Love that were be sent to New York through the American Red Cross.

"I hope it will make them feel better because they know somebody cares about them," Nick Dietrich said.

Lynette Zimmer, principal of Fremont Elementary, said some children are having a hard time dealing with the tragedy.

"Sometimes, unless you ask, you don't find out what young children are thinking," she said. "It's nice for them to do an act of kindness to replace some of the ugliness."