A Lesson in Friendship, Straight From the First Grade

Could anything be more terrifying for a 6-year-old than a cancer diagnosis? After losing his hair as the result of chemotherapy, Zac Gossage, a first grader from Union, MO, cried to his mother that he didn't want to go to school. Luckily, he has a one-of-a-kind friend in Vincent Butterfield. Vincent told his dad that he wanted to shave his head in an act of solidarity with Zac. "I didn't want him to feel like the only one without hair," he said. His dad grabbed a razor and joined him.

But that's not all he did. When Vincent learned how costly his friend's treatments would be, he enlisted his mom's help in an online fund-raiser. They made scarves together, and Vincent set the goal of selling 10 scarves for $10 each on Facebook. In just five hours, he doubled his goal, netting $200.

It's safe to say that compassion comes early in the case of these two. When asked to define friendship by WTNH News 8, Vincent simply responded, "It's a beautiful thing."