When so many people are feeling disconnected with people they love, Victoria Holmes is tying together the bonds of family. No matter the distance. No matter the virus.

Victoria is 12 years old, and she has a hobby: She takes the time to cut half-inch by four-inch strips of fleece. She’s making blankets. But they’re not so she can sell them and make a profit. They’re for other people.

“Some of them were crying when I gave it to them and it feels really good because I can see the impact that I'm having on people’s lives," said Victoria Holmes, founder of Operation Starways.

The star-patterned blankets come in sets of two, one for a cancer patient, and a matching one for someone they love at home.

“In her letter she says, 'the blankets can kind of talk to each other. When your mommy squeezes the big one, the little one in the hospital with you will feel the love,' " said Kimberly Holmes, Victoria’s mom.

Victoria knows what it's like to be far away from someone you love.

“When my mom was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and pregnant with my brother, I was separated from her because I was only 7 at the time; I wasn’t allowed to be near her or be in the hospital room with her," said Victoria.

She was living with her aunt during her mom’s treatment.

“She took me over to the window and she said 'Tori, do you see the moon and the stars?' and I'm like, 'yeah, I see the moon and the stars,' and she said 'those are the same moon and the same stars that your mom is looking at right now.' And that gave me hope and a connection to her," said Victoria.

“Her tagline became: Even when you’re separated by highways, you’re connected through starways," said Kimberly Holmes.

In the years that followed her mom’s return home, she donated her hair to Locks of Love, and shaved her head for St. Baldrick’s. But that wasn’t enough for her. So she started Operation Starways.

“[It helps] just knowing that I'm impacting people and their life is different with me in it than without me in it," said Victoria.

“She wants to let those families know there is hope, because you can get on the other side of cancer," said Kimberly Holmes. “So it's come full circle. Wilmot Cancer Center treated me, Victoria is now donating back to Wilmot Cancer Center.”

That led her to win the Prudential Spirit of Community Award.

“Even without it, I would still be proud of what I’ve done," said Victoria Holmes.

With the award comes a $1,000 scholarship to any college she chooses. Her ambition? Becoming a pediatric cancer doctor.

You can tell her who she should donate blankets to next at operationstarways@gmail.com.