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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Huntington High senior Ginny Blake wants to help alleviate fears for kids facing cancer. And she wants to do it with stuffed ducks.
But they're not just any ducks. Blake is launching a project to raise money for Gabe's Chemo Ducks, which are stuffed ducks that look a lot like a child with cancer. The duck has on hospital scrubs and a bandanna covering its head. It also has a chemo port or patch, intended to allow children to play doctor a little bit and better understand what's happening to them, lessening fear.
Blake is hosting a community event from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Huntington High football field. She is inviting the public to join her in raising money for Chemo Ducks to give to all the children patients at Cabell Huntington's Hoops Family Children's Hospital in Huntington and at Charleston Area Medical Center. The event is called Bucks for Ducks, and will feature a walk around the track, silent auction, games, family activities and more. The event originally started as something to tackle as an Honors Project. The 17-year-old, who plans to attend Marshall University and study pre-med, has since decided to drop the Honors Program for lack of time, but wanted to continue with the project.
Blake, the daughter of Scott and Michele Blake, said the project is dear to her heart because it was inspired by her grandfather, A. Michael Perry. To the community, he's a well-respected retired businessman, community supporter and founder of Heritage Farm, but to her, he's also Papaw, a man she remembers cuddling up next to as a child and doing Sudoku puzzles.
"I've always looked up to him and admired what he's done for the community," Blake said. "He's inspired me to give back as well."
After Perry was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2013, Blake decided that she wanted to do something to help patients with cancer, and as an aspiring pediatric OB/GYN, she wanted to gear it toward kids.
"I've seen how hard it is for an adult going through that and the family to watch it, and I can't imagine (a child's experience)," she said. Blake has not had cancer but has had medical scares, including an appendectomy, and she knows a little about how unnerving hospital procedures can be.
For the fundraising event, she's reached out to area businesses for support and artisans to donate items for the silent auction — including everything from jewelry to Marshall-themed TOMS shoes to ceramics and more. She also set up a website where people can donate. It features a video she made with photos of children and their ducks and some words about the fundraising project.
"I've been so blessed to have great people I've been in contact with," she said, adding that she wasn't sure how people would respond to a high school student. "Everyone has been great, which is encouraging."
Perry said he's impressed.
"As a grandfather, I'm proud as a peacock," Perry said. "She just wanted to do something. I'm not in on everything she's doing, but I'm proud of how she's put together a video and a website and things that confound me. I'm just amazed for a fellow that's still roadkill on the information superhighway."
After sitting through a five-hour chemo treatment with his chemo port, he said he can certainly appreciate her efforts to help children on their cancer journey.
"I can relate," he said. "I'm 78. When you look at the video of the little children and see what they're struggling with, it tugs on your heart. I'm sure they'd love to have one of those little ducks. It's exciting what she's doing."
Lu Sipos is the founder and CEO of the Gabe's Chemo Duck Program, which is named for her 12-year-old son, a pediatric cancer survivor who was diagnosed a week before his first birthday.
"We probably have between five and 10 fundraisers of this nature per year, not always by children but always because the fundraiser was inspired by a child or adult living with cancer," she said. "It always makes me happiest to see children involved in this way because they get to see the end results of their efforts."
The ducks are expected to cost $25 apiece, and the local hospitals need hundreds of them, she said. She'll be charging $5 admission to the event on Sept. 20, or $25 for admission with a T-shirt. To register for admission with a T-shirt, contact Blake at bucks4ducks2K14@gmail.com by Sept. 14. Donations can be made at www.bucksforducks.weebly.com .
To learn more about the ducks, visit www.chemoduck.org .
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Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, http://www.herald-dispatch.com
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