GIG HARBOR - A 10-year-old boy from Gig Harbor is proof that with just a little bit of money and a huge heart, you can make a big difference in your community.

He's Ben Weymiller and his mission to help children started with a visit to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital last year. He went to visit his Aunt Andrea and cousin Mary, who'd spent 78 days in the hospital.

It's what Ben's aunt said to him that got him thinking.

"I didn't have a rocking chair in the room and I was hoping to get one and the hospital was so full, I said to Ben: 'Boy if I ever make enough money someday I want to make sure every room in the hospital has a rocking chair," says Andrea Weymiller.

So Ben gave his Aunt his allowance money from four months. $45.

Call him naive, but he thought the money would go a long way.

"Not even close," says Ben.

Hospital rocking chairs go for $700, so Ben needed a lot more money to pay for 30 more -- which is what the hospital needed.

So he started a Web site www.firstgiving.com/rockathon and attended a fundraiser for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, asking people to donate at an auction. He told his story of donating $45.

"I'm very happy," he says with the way it all turned out.

At the auction, former Mariner Jeff Nelson donated money for 10 rocking chairs. Others stepped up to the plate too. At the end of the night: "I went up there and we got 76 chairs," says Ben. And with more donations from his Web site, a 10-year-old raised enough money to buy 106 rocking chairs.

It started with a visit to his cousin Mary, and with that first donation of $45. Four months allowance.