Step-mom to 8 year old boy in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida helps raise funds and awareness by auctioning off the shaving of her hair on eBay
Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) December 29, 2004 -- Not many people would go to such lengths to raise money and awareness for a worthy cause, but a devoted step-mom is doing just that. In this case, the price of beauty is $2,500 to shave her head. Thats the minimum Valerie DeRoy is seeking to raise for Franklins Fan Club.
Franklins Fan Club is named for Franklin Sklar, an 8 yr old boy, who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in August 2002. After 2 years of intensive treatment and remission, a follow-up test revealed a relapse in July 2004. His only hope for survival was a bone marrow transplant.
In October 2004, Franklin underwent a bone marrow transplant at Duke University Medical Center. Fortunately, his twin sister Sarah was a perfect tissue match and acted as the donor. The prognosis is promising. But, it will be a long road and expenses are high.
Franklins Fan Club was started to help defray expenses not covered by insurance, as well as help others in similar situations. It also seeks to promote the National Bone Marrow Donor registry and increase the number of potential donors. After watching the miracles being performed at Duke, we are looking to educate expectant mothers about donating umbilical cords, which are normally discarded after birth, to transplant centers such as Duke," Valerie stated recently.
Franklins father, Bryan, shaved his head when Franklin lost his hair. Now, Valerie is seeking to make head-lines" with her willingness to go bald making it a true family hair(less) affair – Its hard for me, or any woman, to think about losing her hair – but after watching Franklin go through his treatments with such courage, dignity and spirit – it has been one of the easiest decisions for me to make."
The eBay auction number is 5545854178. Interested parties may contact Valerie DeRoy at 954-937-0678 or via her email at vderoy@bellsouth.net. Donations for Franklins Fan Club are accepted at any Wachovia Bank location or can be mailed to PO Box 171, 10211 Pines Blvd, Pembroke Pines, FL 33026.
Donations can also be made online at Franklins web site www.caringbridge.com/fl/franklin or Franklins Fan Club web site www.franklinsfanclub.org.
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