NATCHEZ — All 8-year-old Carolyne Heatherly needed to make a difference in the community was three brown bags of Mardi Gras beads, a touristy weekend, a little ingenuity and a big heart.

Heatherly cornered the novelty plastic bead market during the Great Mississippi Balloon Race weekend from her house on the corner of Washington and Canal streets, stopping the steady flow of foot traffic to sell last year’s hard-won catches.

And when the Trinity third grader banked $53.43 by the last race, she filled a plastic bag with the total cash and change proceeds and delivered it directly to Kyle’s House, a nonprofit childcare center for children with special needs.

This was the third year Heatherly draped the beads over the white picket fence in her yard to make money for local charities.

She has donated to the Humane Society and Children’s Home in past years.

Heatherly said she was not sure which charity would get the baggie of cash this year until she sold her first beads.

After making her first sale, Heatherly had announced to her father she decided — all on her own — she would like to donate this year’s proceeds to Kyle’s House.

Heatherly delivered the money to Kyle’s House Friday, where she got a special tour and enjoyed a chance to visit the rooms with the 1- and 2-year-old babies.

While Heatherly’s philanthropy extends in several arenas, Kyle’s House holds a special place in her heart because her two brothers are autistic, so she is familiar with the joys and challenges of children with special needs.

Heatherly said her brothers Wesley, 11, and Byrne, 6, are just like anybody else’s brothers, and other children should treat them like anybody else.

When her friends ask her why her brothers talk very little, Heatherly is prepared to teach friends at her sleepovers about autism and Asperger’s Disorder.

Heatherly said she tells her friends people with autism do not think exactly the same way other people do, but they should be treated the same way as any other child.

After all, Heatherly gets along — and sometimes does not get along — with her brothers, just like any other siblings, she said.

Heatherly had fun selling the beads draped over the white picket fence in her yard and telling out-of-towners about Kyle’s House during balloon race.

She also felt proud of herself for earning money for Kyle’s house, too.

“I’m always proud of her,” said Carolyne’s mother and Trinity Middle School art teacher, Susannah Heatherly.

Susannah’s children do not use daycare at Kyle’s House because her schedule doesn’t require it, but she appreciates the availability of a local daycare service for special needs children.

A positive aspect of Kyle’s House is the mixture of special needs children with typical children, Susannah said.

She said special needs children can learn a lot from typical children, and typical children can learn a lot from special needs children, as well.

Interaction with special needs children can teach children and adults compassion and to have a special sensitivity for others, which Susannah said she thinks her daughter has certainly picked up.

The honesty and joy for life she sees in her sons with autism also rubs off on those around them, Susannah said.

“My boys are happy kids,” she said.

And as the middle child of two brothers with autism, interacting with special needs children is all Carolyne has ever known, Susannah said.

Carolyne is also the daughter of Wade Heatherly.