Little did John Beland know when he signed up for more information on the St Baldrick's website, that he'd soon see his community raise over $25,000 for St Baldrick's and $35, 000 for other great causes!
"I truly thought I was just asking for info, however, I received a call from Cindy thanking me for agreeing to host an event! As person who has a hard time saying no for such causes I signed up!".
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Gilford is a small town located in the Lakes Region of Central New Hampshire, so John's first goal was to get the firehouse involved. Of course, they enthusiastically took up the idea and soon the event was rolling like a runaway train.
"We pitched the idea to the police and school district, and in the blink of an eye those organizations were on board. To my amazement, within a few weeks of planting the seed for this event, it took on a life of its own".
They covered the local community and surrounding areas with posters, placed adverts in newspapers, and appeared on radio and TV. On a whim, John emailed the John Travolta Fan Club for an auction item. June Travolta quickly replied, stating that John has a place in his heart for firefighters and for afflicted children. Sure enough, autographed pictures of John from Ladder 49 arrived, as well as posters from his new movie.
The event was held at the Belknap County Sportsman Club (facility donated) with scheduled shavings, raffles, auction, and all day long live music donated by local musicians. "Our cause became personal when two courageous young men from our town were stricken with cancer. Nicholas was just six years old when he lost his battle and Nathan 18 years old. Our event was held in August with both Nicholas and Nathan attending. Both were very ill at the time and we feel so blessed to have had that time with them."
This year, the event will be held on June 3rd, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Belknap County Sportsman Club, Gilford, NH. The event is dedicated to all children fighting cancer. "Through their life and death battles, trials and tribulations, highs, lows and triumphs, they teach us about a courage most of us can't understand". Judging by their accomplishment in 2005, the Gilford community is all set for another successful fundraising day.
