6cf64475323f8d53a99686cc7a26bee7.jpg

Locals give $10K to St. Jude’s

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   A local charity that helps families whose children have been diagnosed with cancer recently presented a $10,000 check to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
   The money came from three fundraising events held last year by Caring for Kids With Cancer, including a craft festival in December and a wine tasting last May.
   The presentation was made April 14 at Chili’s in Flemington. The restaurant chain is itself a large contributor to pediatric cancer research. Since 2006, Chili’s has donated $30 million to St. Jude’s, located in Tennessee. The restaurant’s ultimate goal is $50 million.
   Caring for Kids With Cancer’s long-term goal is to find a cure for childhood cancer. The charity also tries to provide a measure of relief locally with monetary gifts for local families who are dealing with the expense and trauma of having a child in treatment for cancer.
   Last year, Caring for Kids With Cancer made awards to three families. This year so far, the charity helped two families with newly diagnosed children, both in Flemington.
   The families usually receive a $500 donation to help with expenses. The money can be used in whatever way they need, whether it’s prescriptions, groceries or gas to get to medical appointments.
   The charity hopes to increase that amount. “So we want to work a little harder,” said founder Norma Zimmerman, of East Amwell.
   The fundraising will continue on May 22, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m., with a breakfast at the West Amwell Fire Company.
   About 3,000 children die each year from some type of cancer, but only one new cancer drug has been approved in the last 20 years, according to Caring for Kids With Cancer.
   ”We are very proud of our work and the fact that we totally run with all volunteers from the area and there are no paid employees,” the charity says. “All money raised goes for the sole purpose of fighting childhood cancer. No parent should ever have to hear, ‘Your child has cancer.’”
   Unfortunately, those are the words heard by far too many families, including Ms. Zimmerman’s. Her son, Erik, 19, was diagnosed at the age of 17 months with a brain tumor. The cancer treatments had side effects that he lives with daily. His medical trials and subsequent struggles inspired his mother to establish Caring for Kids With Cancer.
   Erik underwent the first of many surgeries in 1992 following a diagnosis of medulloblastoma, a malignant tumor of the central nervous system that arises in the cerebellum, at the back of the brain.
   This year marks the charity’s fifth year of raising funds. Past accomplishments include raising $15,000 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2008.
   A year later, it raised $12,000 for an organization called Cure Search for research into a type of soft-tissue tumor called alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. The donation was made in remembrance of a child who lost her battle with cancer several months ago. She’d been fighting the cancer for five years.
   Along the way, local children were still being diagnosed with cancer, and the charity was quietly donating funds to help them cope.
   The breakfast fundraiser in West Amwell on May 22 will feature pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage. The cost is $10 for adults, and $7 for children 6 to 12. Children 5 and under eat free. No reservations are required.
   The charity is seeking high school and elementary school students who would like to volunteer to help out at the breakfast. Bakers, too, are being sought to donate items for a bake sale that will be held the morning of the breakfast. Anyone willing to make baked goods can donate by calling Cindy Rosso at 397-4103.
   Another fundraiser is planned for Sept. 25 in Lambertville. Food, entertainment and vendors will be set up from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Wells Fargo (formerly Wachovia) bank parking lot, 31 Bridge St.