Weekend Charity Garage Sale to Benefit Melanoma Research

When Lemont resident Jill Risatti's mother, Dawn Gargano, succumbed to melanoma in December 2009, Risatti promised to keep her memory alive.

More importantly, however, she hoped to spread awareness about the skin cancer.

This Saturday and Sunday, Risatti will host a  at her home, 122 Cass St., to raise money for the Melanoma Research Foundation, an organization that supports research for treatment as well as helps teach prevention techniques and spread awareness.

According to Risatti, the choice to raise funds for a research center was one her mother would have wanted.

"Her big thing was that she really didn't want other people to go through what she went through, so she wanted to fund more research," she said.

Melanoma, a skin cancer, is known as "The Forgotten Cancer." Because doctors are not required to train for detecting melanoma, the cancer often goes unnoticed and affects more than a million people each year, greater than all other cancers combined, according to the Melanoma International Foundation.

In fact, melanoma is the most common cancer killer of young women, more so than breast cancer, with an average of one person dying each hour from melanoma, the foundation said.

Risatti said she hopes the garage sale will help educate the community. In particular, she said, parents should teach children how to protect themselves from the sun and to put sunscreen on daily.

"We want to educate the community because a lot of people don't realize the effects of the sun," Risatti said. "It's hard to break old habits, but if you can show the little kids why it's so important to do these things, they will grow up and do these things and then it just hopefully will continue."

Betsy Hardy, Risatti's best friend, is also helping with the garage sale.

"I hate to think that another family will have to go through this—losing a family member, losing a loved one for no reason—when in this day and age when we have the resources and we have the technology," Hardy said. "If money is what it's going to take so that nobody else has to go through with it, then I'll do whatever it takes to raise whatever we can."

At the upcoming garage sale, visitors can expect to find an array of goods, from toys and clothes to candles and electronics. The family will also be grilling hot dogs, handing out refreshments and providing baked goods.

Besides the charity garage sale, Risatti has also set up a fundraising website for those wanting to donate to the foundation. Hardy says she will be baking a cake for whoever contributes the largest total. The goal, for now, is to reach $2,000 and so far the page has received $570 in donations.

"It's just a starting point for us and we're hoping to meet that goal," Hardy said. "This is our first year and we obviously hope to continue in the future and raise more and more as we go."

Still, the garage sale and online donations aren't just about the money. Risatti says she hopes to keep alive the memory of her mother, a longtime resident of Lemont, and spread awareness for the cancer that often goes unnoticed.

"My mom was a very outgoing, happy person," she said. "Until you know someone and the effects [of melanoma], you really don't think it's a possibility. A lot of people knew her, so I'm hoping that they will come support this whole effort and fund the research for melanoma."

"I hope it's great weather and I hope we have a great turnout," Hardy added. "I hope we can raise as much money as possible in the memory of Mrs. Gargano, who was a great lady and who, more than anything else, would have wanted to help other people."

The charity garage sale will run Saturday, June 25, and Sunday, June 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, check out the . To contribute online, donate at the First Giving site or read Dawn Gargano's story on her Caring Bridge page.