Oak Park Kindergartner Hosts Childhood Cancer Fundraiser

Submitted by Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Photos via Kari Dean McCarthy.

Five-year-old Oak Parker Aria McCarthy has been getting chemotherapy since she was three. But the leukemia-stricken Lincoln kindergartner says she feels lucky. She knows that many other kids with cancer don’t have the same chance for a cure that she does, and she’s trying to do something about that.

On Sunday, March 15 at 1:30pm, Aria’s friends and family will throw a fundraiser dubbed “Aria Rocks the Lemonade Stand.“ Hosted at WIRE, the event will help support Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a leading funder of childhood cancer research.

The McCarthy family hopes to fill Berwyn’s new venue to its 350-person capacity by selling tickets online and inviting local residents to participate.

The event will feature Secretary of State Jesse White’s famous tumbling team, and a live rock music performance by “Parental Units,” an ad-hoc super group of professional musician parents performing rock cover songs. Also on stage will be Oak Park’s School of Rock, where Aria’s sister Lyric is a student, and Aria hopes to be again soon.

Chris Connelly and Carolyn Englemann from Sons of the Silent Age will be doing a mini-set as well as part of the live entertainment.

The event will also include a cash bar, karaoke, rockstar makeovers for kids, and a raffle featuring dozens of valuable services and products donated by the local business community, from free summer camps to concert tickets.

Thanks to research advances in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Aria has a 90% chance of survival. Her mother notes, however, that 60% of childhood cancer survivors are more likely to suffer a secondary cancer, heart failure or infertility. Her hope is that increased research leads to solutions to those secondary problems and improves survival rates for children with less promising prognoses.

This year’s event is also held in memory of Joey Ramon Lopez-Egan, a Chicago-area kindergartener who in 2008 succumbed to a yearlong battle against Burkitt’s lymphoma, a more deadly and aggressive blood cancer.

To make a donation or purchase tickets, email Kari@learningseed.com for more information or visit arialuna.weebly.com

Tickets:
Adults: Make a suggested donation of $50 or more (to fund one hour of cancer research).
Children: Bring a new (unwrapped) toy for Loyola’s pediatric oncology unit, (or make a cash donation at the door).

What: Aria Rocks Alex’s Lemonade Stand to Fight Childhood Cancer
When: Sunday March 15, 2015, 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Where: WIRE, 6815 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn, Illinois