Many of you fell in love with Katie Smercak when we profiled her brave battle with leukemia -- if you didn't already know and love this spunky 13-year-old already. 

Now Smercak, always the involved philanthropist, is helping to raise money to send a family to Camp Sunshine in Maine, a magical place for the families of kids with illnesses, where she and her family have gone annually for years. 

She's doing it by swimming the icy waters of Long Branch, New Jersey in a Polar Plunge on February 4. Her goal is to raise $2,000 in donations by then.

Here's Smercak in her own words talking about her special cause:

When I was five I was diagnosed with leukemia. My world was turned upside-down as hospital visits became a regularity and I started using words like oncologist and decadron as part of my every day vocabulary. Just as my family and I were feeling more alone than ever we found Camp Sunshine. Camp sunshine is the place where we became happy and hopeful again. From the second my family arrives to the minute we leave we have smiles on our faces and never stop laughing and having a good time. It’s a place where you can talk about your problems but have fun and smile while doing so. You can take a deep breath and fall if you need to and know someone is always there to catch you. I am 14 and seven years off treatment. This is going to be my first polar plunge. Please help me send a family to camp so they too can have hope again.

Follow this Freezin' for a Reason link to contribute.