Coins For The Cure

To the Editor:

The fourth annual Coins For The Cure — To Wipe Out Leukemia has just concluded. Thanks to the students at St Rose School and the Interact Club at Newtown Middle School. They collected coins in April and May.

Also, thanks to the local businesses that collected coins for this campaign. They are: Mocha’s Coffee, Coach’s Deli, Mobile Gas Stop, The Drug Center, Ice Cream Shop, Sandy Hook Hair Company, Prudential Connecticut Realty, Newtown Nail Spa, Newtown Deli, and Stop & Save Liquors who again matched the amount collected in its store. A special thank you to the employees at the Commerce Park and Newtown offices of the Union Savings Bank who counted all the coins.

The total for this year’s campaign is $1,135, which will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Fairfield County to fund research and patient services.

This fund raising campaign was begun in memory of my son, Greg, who was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2000. He lost his battle and died in October 2002. Greg was a senior at that time. Leukemia is the number one disease causing death of our children under the age of 20. Ten times more adults are diagnosed with leukemia! In the year 2001, in the United States, 3,105 cases were diagnosed with over 700 deaths.

There will be a Light The Night Walk at the White Street campus of WestConn on Saturday, September 24, at 6 pm. Danbury will be joining Trumbull and Norwalk as a walk site. This is the first time the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is bringing a walk to the Danbury area. For more information go to www.lightthenight.org/fct or call me at 426-0851 or the L&L Society at 203-967-8326. The Newtown Nightwalkers will again be a team. You can join our team or start a new one. Since our team was formed in 2002, we have donated $13,600.

We can all work together to help find a cure for blood cancers that are yearly killing our children. Please help.

Sincerely,

Ginny Chion

10 Cobblers Mill Road, Sandy Hook                           June 11, 2005