Passing it on

School raises money to grant cancer survivor’s wish

By Carol Rolf

TRI-LAKES AREA — Students, faculty and staff at Cabe Middle School in Gurdon have the giving spirit and want to pass that spirit along to other schools in the area.

On Oct. 21, the school’s student body was joined by the freshman class of Gurdon High School and members of the community to give 4-year-old Larry L. Griffo of Chidester (Nevada County) a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The trip was made possible through the efforts of Cabe Middle School and the Mid-South Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Larry is a cancer survivor. His grandmother, Darnie Griffo, said he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Nov. 8, 2006. He has undergone chemotherapy and is now in remission.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children like Larr y who have life-threatening medical conditions. Larry, his grandmother and his 7-year-old sister, LaMya N. Griffo, were scheduled to leave Oct. 23 for Florida.

“He’s doing very well,” Darnie Griffo said of her grandson. “He’s a happy child. He loves people and he wants to see Mickey [Mouse].

“All these children, they are just so precious,” she said as she left the auditorium on her way to another building on the Gurdon High School campus and a party for Larry, complete with cake and gifts. “They are learning how to give at such a young age.”

This is the second time Cabe Middle School has been involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation . I n 2008, Kiana Moore, then an eighth-grader at Cabe Middle School and a cancer survivor, received her wish through Make-A-Wish and the efforts of students in the Bismarck School District in Hot Spring County. The Bismarck students had raised money to send a 6-year-old kindergarten student, Fiona, and her family to Disney World, and after she died, the school district decided to raise enough money to send another child to Disney World. That other child was Kiana, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, when she was in the fifth grade.

Shortly after Kiana received her wish, folks at Cabe Middle School began raising money so they could help grant another child’s wish. They hosted a number of fundraisers, including dances, “hat day, “pajama day,” barbecue lunches and making Easter baskets. They raised the $5,000 needed for a wish, which turned out to be Larry’s wish.

Cabe Middle School is now raising funds to send yet another child to Disney World.

“We’re starting tomorrow,” said Libby White, Cabe Middle School principal. “We want to challenge, to encourage other schools to do what we are doing. We want to continue this, to pass it on to others.”

Beverly Higgs of Arkadelphia, a volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, said the organization grants wishes to children from 2 to 18. She said applications could be submitted by doctors, parents or family members.

“When we get an application, we go out and visit the family, then come back and submit the paper work,” she explained. “The board makes the final decision.”

Higgs said Cabe Middle School’s work with the Make-A Wish Foundation has reached beyond the school’s campus and into the community. Brian Clark of Gurdon, who sings with the gospel quartet CrossPoint, is donating $5 from the sale of every compact disc to Make-A Wish. A number of local businesses donated food and decorations for the Oct. 21 assembly, including Brookshires Food Store in Arkadelphia, Anthony-Higgs Lumber Co. in Gurdon, Mary and Martha’s Florist in Arkadelphia and Forget Me Knot Florist in Gurdon.

- crolf@arkansasonline.com

Tri-Lakes, Pages 59 on 11/05/2009