BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer
HOWELL – On May 20, a charity yard sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 25 Carol Lane to support a 3-year-old girl who is battling a rare form of cancer.
Carol Lane is off Stanley Boulevard, which intersects Route 9 south just south of Interstate 195.
Vanessa Cunha, of the Bayville section of Berkeley Township, Ocean County, was diagnosed in June 2005 with Rhabdomyosarcoma Alveoli, a condition that affects the body’s muscles. Vanessa recently completed treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Now her mother’s friends are rallying behind the stricken child in the hope of offsetting medical bills insurance will not cover.
Wendy Delena has spearheaded the effort and will host the yard sale at her house.
“We’ve all gotten together to do this,” she said. “It’s really a shame insurance can’t cover all of [the bills]. The family has been through some tough times.”
As for the event, Delena said the response has been overwhelming. “People have donated so much,” she said. “My whole shed and my patio are filled with clothes, toys, electronics, books and so much more. The generosity we’ve been seeing is wonderful. We’re pretty sure my whole front yard will be covered and probably some of my backyard, too.”
Delena described the circumstances through which she and Vanessa’s mother, Vera, came together.
“One of my girlfriends started the Yahoo [Internet] group Moms In and Around Brick,” she said.
Delena joined the group in hopes of finding women like her to discuss the adventures of motherhood.
She found exactly that.
“It’s a wonderful group of women,” she said. “It’s the most sincere group of women you will ever find. They are all very charitable.”
Delena said she met Vera through the group and forged a relationship with her and Vanessa.
“Vanessa is so happy, so beautiful, so vivacious and she’s already gone through so much,” Delena said. “She’s so young.”
To learn more about Vanessa or how to help her cause, visit the Internet Web site www.vanessacunha.net.