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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Helping others key for student

By Nicole Cosentino
   Last week, 8-year-old Fabiana Russo raised $200 for “Labs For Logan” – a charity that raises money for a local boy with diabetes.
   Her mother, Giovanna Russo, was very supportive of the fundraiser.
   ”She’s a very special little girl and we’re so proud of her for doing what she did for this little boy,” Ms. Russo said.
   Ms. Russo learned about Labs For Logan while attending Indian Fields Elementary School. The charity gathers money so Logan, a young boy with diabetes, who attends the Brooks Crossing Elementary School, can have a Labrador retriever.
   ”Logan doesn’t know if his blood sugar goes high or low, so the dog will tell him at 12:00 what his blood sugar is,” Fabiana said.
   Several schools in the district have been raising a fund to give the family the $20,000 that is estimated for the dog to cost.
   These specially trained animals are being used to detect fluctuations in the sugar level of diabetics in addition to other forms of monitoring, according to several websites connected to the disease.
   ”(The dog) can lick (Logan’s) skin and know half an hour before any detector,” Ms. Russo said.
   After hearing about Labs For Logan, Fabiana took matters into her own hands.
   ”She set up a booth with a little Spongebob machine and she was making snow cones and selling them for 50 cents,” Ms. Russo said. “The next day I went to Stop&Shop. I gathered cookies, donuts, and Hawaiian punch. We sold them along with hot dogs. It was just beautiful.”
   The Russo family is very familiar with diabetes.
   ”Our really close friends have diabetes and my cousin’s son has diabetes,” Ms. Russo said. “It’s a horrible disease.”
   Ms. Russo hopes that if Fabiana learned one thing from the experience, it is “to care.”
   ”That is so important, to care for people,” Ms. Russo said. “We give. It’s what we do. I hope she will always take that with her.”
   Ms. Russo is a nail therapist and former business owner of 10 years.
   Her daughter already has high hopes for her own future career.
   ”I love to help people,” Fabiana said with a huge smile on her face.
   She said she hopes to become a nurse, teacher, or veterinarian.