17-year-old resident organizes fundraiser to support Ronald McDonald House, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
Nobody wants to have a head-on collision with childhood cancer, 13-year old cancer survivor Cole Fitzgerald said at the first car smash fundraiser held at St. Augustine Prep School in Richland. Washington Township resident and prep student Jake Smith, inspired by Fitzgerald, organized the event to raise money and awareness for cancer and cancer research.
Fitzgerald, a Bunker Hill Middle School student, was diagnosed at the age of 3 with stage four, high risk, neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that most commonly affects children ages 5 and younger. With doctors giving him a small chance of making it past the age of 5, he is now a 10-year cancer survivor.
Fitzgerald and Smith have known each other since elementary school. According to Smith, Fitzgerald’s work with Alex’s Lemonade Stand and other fundraising events is what gave him the idea to create his own event.
“Cole’s determination and positive attitude, despite all the challenges he’s faced, is really inspiring and has touched my heart in a special way,” Smith said. “He’s really an inspiration and inspired me to do something to fight back against cancer.”
The car smash, held on Thursday, April 27, called for students, staff and community members to donate $10, allowing them three swings at a donated car symbolizing the theme of “smashing away cancer.” By purchasing the $10 ticket, participants were also entered into a raffle to win a donated Apple MacBook Pro and a GoPro camera.
All of the funds raised were donated to the Ronald McDonald House, where Smith is a member of the Teen Advisory Board, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, where Fitzgerald is an ALSF hero ambassador.
“Teens love smashing things, so I thought if we decorated cars with cancer, teens could smash away cancer,” Smith said. “It’s a really cool way to bring awareness.”
Participants were able to smash two cars with sledgehammers, while Fitzgerald even had the option to use the Jaws of Life provided by the Richland Fire Company.
The cars were decorated in the colors of the two organizations, red and yellow for the Ronald McDonald House and yellow and blue for ALSF, and embellished with phrases such as “beat cancer” and “smash here.”
By the end of the day, Smith said the event raised more than $1,000 with continuous donations being made throughout the day.
The Ronald McDonald House “supports families of seriously ill children by creating a community of comfort and hope.” Families who live more than 25 miles away from a Ronald McDonald House, have a child receiving inpatient or outpatient treatment at a local hospital and who have a child younger than 21 are able to stay at the house while the child is receiving treatment, having surgery or attending appointments.
According to the ALSF website, the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15 in the United States is cancer. Approximately 250 kids around the world die from cancer every day, 91,250 losing their lives to the disease every year.
ALSF is a national foundation that “raises money and awareness of childhood cancer causes, primarily for research into new treatments and cures,” and encourages others to be involved in making a difference for childhood cancer. Founder Alexandra “Alex” Scott was diagnosed with neuroblastoma shortly before her first birthday. She held her first fundraiser at the age of 4, when she sold lemonade in her front yard, raising more than $2,000. In 2004, Alex passed away at the age of 8, having raised more than $1 million for the cause.
“Without research funded by Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, I wouldn’t be alive today,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s good for me, but some of my friends, they are not so lucky. There’s a lot more work to be done, and that’s why support of Alex’s Lemonade Stand is so important.”
Donations given by students at the event were given to ALSF, while donations by outside businesses and community members online benefitted the Ronald McDonald House.
“There is a long and hard road ahead for kids battling cancer, and for survivors like me, they usually have long-term side effects from diseases and treatment,” Fitzgerald said. “Nobody wants to have a head-on collision with childhood cancer, but with your help, we can put a few dents in it and someday, it’ll be in our rearview mirror.”
