Holiday Gala / Gift Auction Fundraiser for Ann Valerio & Family: Music Food and Family Fun

We are so proud to be part of a community that has rallied behind an area family in desperate need.  Last March Ann Valerio of Wall was diagnosed with acute myelogeonous leukemia (AML), a fast-growing cancer that starts inside the bone marrow.  Ann—wife of Sergio Valerio and the mother of three daughters ages 12, 14, 18—has since been battling the disease by undergoing round after round of chemotherapy.   She has spent much of the last 8 months hospitalized at Robert Wood Johnson in New Brunswick fighting for her life.  While the battle has been physically, spiritually, and financially exhausting, Ann fights with the hope of sharing in the joy of seeing her beautiful daughters grow up, marry, and have children. 

 In August friends organized a drive at the South Wall Firehouse searching for a bone marrow match to help save Ann’s life.  The community response was fantastic, with more than 300 people coming out for the painless swab that determines if they could possibly be the match to save Ann’s life or the life of another leukemia patient.  A full match has not yet been found for Ann.  Fortunately, her daughter Brianna is a partial match.  In the next month Ann and her daughter will head down to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for Ann to begin the long bone marrow transplant process, a process that will require months away from her family.

The Valerios have been touched by the outpouring of support from the community.   Friends have scheduled local families to cook and deliver meals to the family twice a week.  Still, the financial toll on the Valerio family is huge.  We hope to ease their hardship a bit—and celebrate Ann’s fighting spirit—by holding the Holiday Gala and Gift Auction.  100% of the proceeds will go to the Valerio family.

 How can you help?  Please spread the word and come on out to support a wonderful family. 

Thank you so much for any support, small or large, which you can lend this event.  It is a great and compassionate gift in the spirit of community.  We wish you a healthy and prosperous holiday season.