Grant McKeon, a 16-year-old from Hamilton Township., is as involved as any teen his age.
McKeon loves playing soccer, participates in Burlington County 4H Players and is active with the South Jersey Chapter of Junior Statesmen of America.
In January, however, Grant’s life changed when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer.
Now, the South Jersey community is rallying together to help the McKeon family as Grant undergoes treatment.
A benefit concert is being held on Saturday, April 25 at Grace Presbyterian Church in Mt. Laurel, with all proceeds from the event going toward the McKeon family. The concert begins at 7 p.m.
The McKeon family is part of a large home schooling community of families from around the tri-state. Grant’s mother Jackie describes her son as a very outgoing teenager who is well known in the community.
“He sees the humor in most things,” she said. “He’s very perceptive. He loves to give the editorializing of things.”
Grant injured his arm during a soccer game last fall. It was originally thought to be a minor injury, and Grant began undergoing physical therapy. However, when his shoulder swelled up during rehab, he was sent to get an array of tests, eventually leading to his diagnosis.
Despite the diagnosis, Grant has taken everything in stride the past few months. He got lots of motivation when he met two other kids in the hospital who were also battling cancer.
“I actually met two people who also were diagnosed with other cancers,” he said. “They were able to just give me advice.”
Grant is driven to continuing with treatments, which include intense chemotherapy sessions. Even though he is exhausted from treatments, he always remembers to stay positive.
“Your attitude controls the rest of your body,” Grant said. “If you’re positive, the rest of your body will follow through with that. Whenever everything seems really down, just keep your head up.”
Grant’s medical bills have become a financial hurdle for the McKeon family. As a result, many people began contacting Rosemary Laberee, a member of the homeschooling community. She went to social media to help organize fundraising efforts.
“I created the page and invited everyone I knew and invited them to invite everyone they knew,” Laberee said.
The page, named “Support for the McKeons,” has received more than 300 likes and is full of well wishes from various community members. Jackie also posts updates about Grant on the page.
In the past three months, donations and well wishes have been pouring in to the McKeon family. Jackie said the family has received everything from cards to gift certificates for gas and food.
“It’s very overwhelming and humbling,” she said. “When you go through something like that, you just see the kindness of people.”
With the number of people hoping to support the McKeons growing, members of the community began discussing fundraisers. The homeschool community regularly puts on benefit concerts, so it was decided a concert would be held at Grace Presbyterian Church in Mt. Laurel. The church is allowing the group to use its entire space for no charge, allowing for all money from the event to go toward the McKeon family.
“We’re going to pack that church to the gills,” she said.
Even though osteosarcoma is a rare form of cancer, members of the Mt. Laurel community are familiar with it. Eric “Ebo” Eberling was a Mt. Laurel resident and student at Lenape High School who was also diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of 15. Eberling continued to coach hockey and stay involved with many activities through his treatment as the community rallied around him. Eberling passed away on Dec. 25, 2013, at the age of 17.
Earlier this year, the Eberling family formed a nonprofit organization called the Ebo Strong Foundation to raise money and support families with pediatric cancer. Gini Eberling, Eric’s mother, was able to connect with Grant after a chance meeting one night at dinner.
“We went out to dinner just on a whim, and we ended up sitting next to Grant’s best friend’s family,” she said.
Eberling got in contact with Grant’s father Paul to talk to him and offer her support. In addition, she also helped the family get in contact with a company to make bracelets and t-shirts in support of Grant. Having gone through many of the same experiences, Eberling wanted to offer a helping hand in any way possible.
“I talked back and forth with Paul, just giving him some tips and advice,” she said.
Eberling will speak to the audience at the concert about the importance of giving back to those when they need it most.
The amount of support the McKeons have received from the community is something Jackie will never forget.
“It’s been very beautiful to see how people really care,” Jackie said.
Everyone in the community is invited to the concert to support the McKeons. Donations will be collected at the event. Those unable to attend the concert can mail checks to Grace Presbyterian Church, 550 Union Mill Road, Mt. Laurel NJ 08054.
