There are plenty of ways to describe a town.

You can talk about its schools, its businesses, its neighborhoods or the people who have called it home for generations. But every once in a while, something happens that reveals a little more about the community behind all of it.

Over the past few weeks, Fairview has had one of those moments.

Six-year-old Grace Welker is a Westwood Elementary student who loves animals, cheerleading, soccer and softball. Happy, spirited and strong, she's the kind of kid who gives everything she's doing her all.

At the beginning of September, Grace and her family received news no family expects to hear. Grace had been diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or B-ALL. She was admitted to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital, where she began treatment.

Grace Welker smiles in her hospital bed at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital, hugging a stuffed snow leopard.
Grace with the stuffed animal she named after one of her nurses.

And almost as quickly as the news began spreading through Fairview, so did the support.

A Town Turns Orange

It began in dozens of different ways.

There were prayers and messages. Packages began arriving for Grace. Friends and family visited. Her AWANA, Titans, Westwood and Fairview communities sent toys, activities and other gifts. Her Westwood community found ways to bring a little bit of home to the hospital, too. Grace's teacher, Mrs. Corbin, and guidance counselor, Mrs. Warden, surprised her with a visit and hand-delivered cards made by her classmates. Jessica later wrote that the smile on Grace's face when she saw them "was everything." Then orange began appearing around town.