Kyla Carmichael of Westport was born to sing, and after placing in the top 10 during a talent search, she gets a real shot at becoming a star with a trip to Los Angeles. However, this dream comes with a hefty price tag, so a friend stepped in to help.

Kyla, 13, was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, making her legally blind at birth.

“When she was younger, a lot of average things that kids could do was very hard for her,"
said her mother, Keri Foster.

Foster shared Kyla’s struggle in school with classmates. Kids aren’t always friendly, but instead of hateful words keeping Kyla down, she turned to music. She even channeled her emotions into a song about bullies and overcoming negativity.

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Before Kyla could form a sentence, she was singing songs.

“When I hear her sing, I know it’s all she wants to do,” Foster said. “She has the voice, and she never wanted to do anything else.”

Being 13 is hard enough. Having to go through life blindly can be a scary situation. One thing remains clear, though: Kyla’s dream of becoming a singer.

Kyla and her family took a trip to Boston to compete in a talent search called “Vocal Star.” Out of 100 people, they only pick 10 to represent New England. Kyla was one of those 10.

Her family was ecstatic, but dollar signs began popping up.

Foster soon realized that five days in L.A. would cost around $5,500, but didn’t dare ask for help, knowing everyone is going through their own struggles.

“We didn’t want to reach out for money, but everyone seemed to want to help out in some way,” Foster said.

Her good friend Karen Canva helped in a big way by starting a fundraiser to help with travel costs. Canva grew up with Foster and loves her family dearly.

“The family means a lot to me,” Canva said. “Not everyone in the world today has the resources they need to make their dreams come true. My hope for her is to have her dreams come true.”

Chasing a dream is a hefty goal, but Kyla is looking to face her dream head on, thanks to the generous donations of her friends and family.

I think everyone likes to see a person have a dream, and when someone is as passionate as Kyla, the desire to help comes easy.

As Foster said, “Who knows, maybe we’ll have her singing on Fun 107 one day.”

Listen to Kyla sing a song by one of her favorite artists, Miranda Lambert.

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