Optimists help family of child with cancer
Published: Friday, June 18, 2010
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By Linda May, Macomb Daily columnist
Hannah Bizzotto is a 2-year-old from Eastpointe who is suffering from large cancerous tumors in her abdomen, and the Central Macomb Optimist Club is assisting her friends and family in organizing a “Walk for Hannah” on June 27. Club members are asking people to come out for a “supportive stroll” and donate pledges to Hannah. Three walks begin at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Metro Beach Point Picnic Shelter 2.
“We paid the pavilion rental fee and our workers will help with registration and make sure everybody is comfortable, and hopefully we will take in a lot of donations,” Optimist member Dorothy Hardy said.
“All funds raised on this walk will be donated to the family to help offset some of the terrible financial strain this family is experiencing,” she said. “We need both walkers and donations. Any help will make an impact. It is very difficult to ask people in the financial times we live in, but this is also a very difficult situation for those who love this little girl. We encourage people to enjoy the energy that comes with believing we can make a difference in Hannah’s life.”
Hannah, who has had 12 surgeries, came to the attention of the Optimist members through a flier distributed at Hannah’s mother’s workplace.
“We’ve done a lot of fundraisers,” Hardy said. “We’ve never done a walk, but we are pretty good at organizing and getting the message out to the community, getting our own friends involved, and generally getting involved with anything that has to do with children in need. And this family is in dire need. I’ve worked in the medical field for 35 years and I’ve never once heard of a child with ovarian cancer, and tumors this large.”
Elaine Lyons joined the club after rotating out of a soccer organization that supported her son’s activities.
“Once he was older, there was something missing in my life and I ran into someone who had joined an Optimist club,” Lyons said. “We went to a couple of meetings and we joined, and half the people on the soccer board did the same. I think, in general, people want to help children, but they don’t always know where to go.
“We’ve had a surge in membership lately and we have not gone out and tried to recruit members. People just hear about what we do and they come and see that, hey, in this club they really like each other and really get along. Most of our members work during the day, so they can come to a meeting in the evening and they find that they each have a skill to bring,” Lyons said. “It just gets to be fun. I’ve made some great friends through it. We have fellowship and camaraderie all the while doing wonderful things for kids.
“New members might bring in their own focus on something. That’s how we got into the Vision HOPE Champions for Life Kid’s Camp. We can mix fun with work. I’ve made more friends and met more people that I never would have met, and I’ve made some great friends through the Optimist club. We’ve even got two members getting married.”
The group was recently honored by the Shelby Township Boys and Girls Club with an Outstanding Community Service Award.
One of the Central Macomb club’s projects is buying Beanie Babies toys and wrapping them in crocheted “magic hug” squares with an encouraging message attached. About 1,400 so far have gone to children in hospitals and who are undergoing medical treatment, and to children in foster care and other stressful situations. The participants in the Kids Kicking Cancer program at Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center recently got a basket of Beanie Babies.
Donations are also welcome at
www.helphannah.com