Readers Choice Hero awards voting - Evan Moss

Seven-year-old Evan Moss is both an artist and a crusader. He became an accomplished author using the CreateSpace self-publishing platform with his book, “My Seizure Dog.” Evan’s cause was himself - raising money to purchase a trained dog from the non-profit 4 Paws for Ability organization, to secure a constant companion to act not just when Evan was having an epileptic seizure — usually in the middle of the night — but sniff it out beforehand and alert others to Evan’s side. The application for the dog required Evan speak on his behalf and he did so with a hand-made, self-illustrated book, the kind he learned how to make in his first grade class. The cost of the specially trained seizure dog, a Labradoodle, is $13,000 and the family knew they had to get creative to raise the money. Publishing Evan’s book looked promising and the CreateSpace platform provided the family with a quick, easy and affordable way to get the book out — without investing in inventory — so they could get cracking on chipping away at that hefty price tag.

Evan has raised enough money for his own dog — and helped support the fundraising efforts of at least three other families — and he wants to raise more money to help other children acquire the seizure dogs they need. People Magazine is holding a "Readers Choice Hero" competition that awards the grand prize winner with $10,000, which Evan will put towards helping another child acquire their seizure dog. You can vote by clicking this link - and voting ends October 13th, so vote quickly!