EVENT Hundreds raised for girl with rare genetic condition TARA CHISLETT Fredericton Daily Gleaner March 31, 2014 Gina Solomon, left, shows a variety of merchandise to Callista Meyer, and her daughter Haillie Clark while at a fundraiser for Alyvia Lambert, who is hospitalized in Halifax for a rare genetic condition. Photo: James West/The Daily Gleaner. The organizer of a fundraiser for a Fredericton girl hospitalized in Halifax for a rare genetic condition says, while she was hoping for a bigger turnout, she was still pleased with the amount of money raised for the family. Stephanie Steeves organized Saturday’s Love for Baby Alyvia event. Despite competing with the home show, which made parking at the Winners Lounge difficult, the event raised $684 for Alyvia Lambert. “There were a lot of raffle tickets sold and some of the vendors did well,” she said. “Alyvia’s grandmother was in and her little sister was in, too, to take a look around and see the vendors and check out the raffle. It was good to see them.” Alyvia was airlifted from Fredericton to the IWK a couple weeks ago when she went into septic shock, after contracting two bacterial infections. Alyvia, who celebrated her first birthday Jan. 25, was diagnosed with McCune-Albright syndrome shortly after birth. The genetic disease affects bone growth, skin pigmentation and hormone balance. She has also been diagnosed with many other illnesses associated with McCune-Albright syndrome, including Cushing’s syndrome, hyperthyroid, precocious puberty and severe anemia. Her condition also causes her bones to be brittle. Over the last year, she’s had four major breaks – two broken femurs, a broken hip and a broken tibia – all from just handling her. Steeves said each of the 15 vendors paid $10 to take part in the event and all that money will go directly to Alyvia, along with the profits from the raffle. Each vendor also agreed to donate 10 per cent of their earnings from the day. Ruth Ann Swansburg, the Moncton Coupon Lady, came out to Saturday’s event to show support for the family and to spread the word about a coupon seminar she’ll be holding in Fredericton as a fundraiser for Alyvia. “I have a lot of people who have been asking me to do another class in Fredericton so I thought this was a great opportunity to help a family as well,” she said. “I actually have a baby boy. He was born in December, just before her, so when I read here story, I thought, wow. I have a healthy baby. I just felt like I wanted to do something. This is my way of being able to give back.” Swansburg said the course, which will take place April 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Winners Lounge will provide a crash course in couponing basics: where to find coupons, how to organize them, store policies and shopping strategies. Tickets for the course will be $10 and 50 per cent of the money raised will go to Alyvia. To reserve a spot, email class@monctoncouponlady. Steeves said she was happy with the event and grateful to those who came out to show their support. “Until I started fundraising for kids here and there, I didn’t realize how many are actually battling something. I really wish I could help them all in some way,” she said. “But this city, seriously, I’ve learned that our city’s a lot more generous than I ever thought it was.” The fundraising effort will continue with an online auction for the remaining raffle items. The auction can be found on Facebook at Love for Baby Alyvia Part 2 Online $1 Auction. Donations can also be made via Go Fund Me by visiting gofundme/5uyn00.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 01:05:35 +0000
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