TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - They say you truly don't know who your real friends are until you experience tragedy.

For Jeanie Edinburgh of Terre Haute, she is a true friend of dozens of children...in good times and bad.

A recent tragedy in her community meant it was time to step up and help. That's why she is October's Make a Difference Award winner.

She is an administrative assistant with the 14th and Chestnut Community Center in Terre Haute.

She told us she started working in the center to make a difference for children, but instead, the kids made a difference for her.

"I get up in the morning and I look forward to coming to 14th and Chestnut. People have jobs. This is not a job for me. This is family," Edinburgh said.

On September 3, a tragedy hit the family. 16-year-old Shelly Nelson died from a severe asthma attack.

Nelson was a member of the 14th and Chestnut Community Center.

Medicaid paid for some of the young girl's funeral expenses. Edinburgh covered the rest.

"I just felt like somebody had to d something for Shelly. She deserved to be laid to rest in a proper manner...and I felt it was just as much my responsibility to make sure that happened as anybody else," Edinburgh told us.

"It means a lot. Miss. Jeanie has always been like an aunt to me. She's always been there...like ever since I was born I remember staying at her house a couple of times and stuff. So, the fact that she was the one who stepped up out of everybody really meant a lot to me," Nelson's brother, Marcel Nelson said.

Click play on the video to see her story.