DOUGLASSVILLE >> Nothing helps get you through hard times more than support from the people around you.
No one knows this better than Douglassville residents who, among others, showed up by the carload Saturday to support 11-year-old Hannah Hivner at the 8th Annual Red Corner Benefit.
Each year the event benefits a different family that is dealing with the challenges of a child with cancer. Hivner, who is currently a fifth-grade student at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School, is battling high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia and was this year’s Red Corner beneficiary.
The benefit began as a tradition in which participants would make a yearly fall road trip from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay area to attend The Bridge School Benefit. The Bridge School is a nonprofit organization that works to help individuals with severe speech and physical impairments to participate fully in community events through alternative means of communication. After several years of supporting the benefit, the idea was born to carry that tradition to the Douglassville area to aid children struggling with childhood cancer.
“My husband and I used to live in Los Angeles and every year we’d go to The Bridge School Benefit, which is a charity that raises money for children with cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis and things like that,” said Tammy Roehrig, one of the event’s founders. “Our friends and family would come out, and it was a tradition and when we decided to move back here, we wanted to keep the tradition going and so we decided to start here.”
Every year, the event brings in not only people from the area hoping to support a worthy cause, but also families from previous years who know what an event like Red Corner Benefit can do for a family in need.
“When my daughter was sick, they reached out to me. I had no idea what to expect. I came and it was an amazing day and they are like my family,” said Kimberly Fox, the mother of the fundraiser’s first recipient, Kiki. “My daughter is 13 now. She was 5 when she was diagnosed and she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. The year they did the benefit for her she was still in treatment. She’s had no evidence of cancer since 2009 and she’s been done with treatment since 2010. She’s now considered a survivor.”
Kiki also participated Saturday, volunteering with dozens of others donning red shirts for the event.
“The whole thing is just really awesome how a whole community comes together for a family that needs help whether it’s financially or mentally just supporting somebody because it’s a tough time,” said Monique Templeton of Pottstown, who has volunteered for the event since it first began. “I love it all. I love seeing this many people come together to support an individual.”
And the amount of people has grown substantially since the benefit’s beginnings. Roehrig estimated that their first benefit welcomed about 150 people. The event has now reached what she estimates to be about 2,000 people this year.
Guests were able to enjoy a variety of entertainment including live music, rock climbing walls, a mechanical bull, a petting zoo, face painting and more. After all the day’s festivities are done, families are invited to spend the night camping and take part in a sky lantern release and watch a professional fireworks show.
“We want people to be aware of how frequent childhood cancer is because people don’t realize it and how little funding goes to it,” said Roehrig. “So it’s not just raising funds. We want people to be more involved and aware.”
To donate to Red Corner Benefit at any time visit www.redcornerbenefit.org.
