Teens, tweens and young children raise $1K for pediatric cancer patients

Cupcakes4Cancer teammates Pam and Rachel Appelbaum, Dara and Braden Shipp, Sharon and Abby Saliman, and Ilician, Sydney and Zoey Strasser. Not pictured: Jordan Appelbaum, Samantha Shipp, Kayla Saliman, Molly Rosenthal, Amy Gootzait, Zach Horowitz, Jordyn and Brooke Harrison, Austin Schwartz, Avery and Ashleigh Lustgarten, Leo and Alaina Cole, and Sarah and William Levenson.

August 8, 2013

Cupcakes4Cancer, a benevolent group of teens, tweens and young children, raised nearly $1,100 this year to support the pediatric cancer unit at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center. Members of the group based at the Jewish Community Center in North Wilmington presented a check to Jon Strasser, M.D., radiation oncologist, in June.

Cupcakes4Cancer started in September 2009, comprising a few families from the Jewish community who wanted to help others by selling cupcakes and donating the proceeds to Christiana Care. Including the check presented this year, the group has raised almost $5,000.

This year they raised the money without selling a single cupcake. Instead, following a successful strategy that worked well last year, they simply gave the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes away and asked for donations. Some generous donors gave donations without even taking a cupcake.

“It feels good to raise the money, but it was fun, too. Who doesn’t like to decorate cupcakes?” said Rachel Appelbaum, a 4th grader at Garnet Valley Elementary School in Garnet Valley, Pa.

Dr. Strasser said the Cupcakes4Cancer members directly benefit the children being treated in the pediatric cancer unit at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center.

“These young people found ways to influence others, and they are also learning about the value of philanthropy at a very young age,” he said. “We are honored to have such strong support from them.”

“I love that our community comes together to make a positive impact on the lives of others,” said Sharon Saliman, BSN, RN, who works on Christiana Care’s Pulmonary Step-down Unit and whose family participated in the event. “This program makes it easy and fun for our kids to be directly involved in doing something good.”