SEEKONK, Mass. (WPRI) — Inside George R. Martin Elementary School in Seekonk is an entire hallway dedicated to Small But Strong, and the many children who define those powerful words. WPRI anchor Shannon Hegy started Small But Strong after the most terrifying time in her family's life. Her son Carter was diagnosed with E. coli meningitis at just two months old, and the family spent 70 days in the hospital while he battled for his life. Thankfully, he made it through with no lasting impacts, but Shannon knew, after spending so much time in a children's hospital and seeing the many kids battling things they could not control over, that she had to tell their stories.  Needless to say, walking through the school's hallway brought her to tears. Shannon found out about the hallway display after coming into work one day to find a postal envelope filled with letters to some of the children we've featured on Small But Strong, all hand-written by the students in Mrs. Soderlund's fifth-grade class. Lorelie wrote, "Dear Sarah, you inspire me every day to accept others and their differences." READ SARAH'S STORY: Teen says her burn scars are a sign of triumph, not trauma Michael wrote, "Hi Rowen. Hope you're doing well. You are very strong and our class is very proud of you." READ ROWEN'S STORY: Middletown 4-year-old tackles obstacles despite rare syndrome Gavin wrote, "Dear Landon, I hope you are doing good at school, even though you have to skip three days of class. I have no idea what it's like." READ LANDON'S STORY: Warwick boy doesn’t let rare lung disease stop him from enjoying life Nora wrote, "Hey Bianca, I think you are so strong considering what you are going through. You have an amazing growth mindset." READ BIANCA'S STORY: Narragansett girl’s rare diagnosis prompts mom to start nonprofit Shanna Soderlund has been teaching the concept of a "growth mindset" to her fifth graders for the last five years through the stories of famous people like Michael Jordan or Steve Irwin — until two months ago. "Recently I was just at home watching Channel 12 News and Small But Strong had come on and I thought it would be great for the children to see kids going through some difficult times," Soderlund said. What started as a week-long lesson with one Small But Strong child grew into a month-long lesson in not just growth mindset, but empathy. "They were 100% invested and interested," Soderlund said. "They wanted to send these children messages letting them know how big of inspirations they are in their lives, and they really took off with it.  "These kids have a lot of [empathy] in them, and that's why they're gonna grow up to be amazing adults, which can change the world." Check out the video below to see the Small But Strong kids and their families opening up their letters. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Good News SIGN UP NOW