My son had a difficult few years around ages 4 and 5, with a neighbor boy dying and his grandmother who lives next door suddenly forgetting who he was because she had suffered brain damage. My son had an even harder time when he was 5 1/2 and in Kindergarten and his dad was diagnosed with cancer.
My son learned to deal with it with humor. He had heard that "laughter is the best medicine" so he came up with the funniest things to say when we waited with his dad at the hospital. My son needed to feel like he was doing something to help and this was the only way he knew how. I think that somehow helped him deal with knowing that there was bad stuff happening all around him. He knew he couldn't do anything about what was happening, but he could help the people going through it feel better by making them laugh.
He does still worry about some things but I really think that feeling like he is doing something helps him.
Maybe she could feel like she is helping by donating food to a food bank.
