Jamie Lee Curtis on Her Fight to Help Children in Need: ‘There’s Nothing More Powerless Than a Sick Kid’

Jamie Lee Curtis' life was forever changed in 1983 after she met a 12-year-old girl named Lori Tull. The actress, 62, was filming a movie in Pontiac, Ill. and attended a fundraiser the town was throwing for Tull, who had one of the first successful heart transplants.

"She and I became friends, and she visited me when I was making another movie, in Pittsburgh," explains Curtis.

Unfortunately, Tull died when she was 20. At the time, Curtis asked Sony to donate VCRs to Children's Hospital Pittsburg so the patients could watch movies and she donated a movie library in Tull's name.

When she returned home, Curtis knew she wanted to do more to help kids in need.

"I called Children's Hospital Los Angeles and said, 'Hi, it's Jamie Lee Curtis. I was born and raised here. Might I help?'" says Curtis.

For the past 25 years, the star of the Halloween franchise has been a devoted advocate for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and has hosted fundraisers, served on the board of directors and is the spokesperson for their sixth annual Make March Matter campaign.

RELATED: Why Jamie Lee Curtis Launched a Podcast During the Pandemic

Luis Chavez Curtis with products from her company My Hand in Yours, which donates 100 percent of sales to CHLA.

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Curtis at the sixth annual Make March Matter campaign kickoff on March 1.

The campaign, which is accepting donations through mid-April, encourages people to shop, dine or participate in an event with a participating partner. Funds will then be donated to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

"The groovy thing about Make March Matter is that it's going out to the community. People might not know how they can make a difference and so by creating a thing where they say, well, if you go to Panda Express, part of the proceeds of that sale goes toward Children's Hospital," says Curtis.

The Knives Out actress and best-selling children's book author, has also started her own company, My Hand in Yours, which donates 100 percent of sales to CHLA.

Says Curtis, "There's no feeling more helpless than a sick child, and at Children's Hospital Los Angeles the doctors, nurses and staff lean into these little people and help them, regardless of whether they can pay, and to me there's no greater good."