Striking Out Childhood Cancer

Fundraiser for Alex’s Lemonade Stand to honor C.J. Banaszek.|

On Sunday, Oct. 18 from 1 to 7 p.m., Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation will entertain its first Striking Out Childhood Cancer event at AMF Boulevard Lanes in honor and memory of C.J. Banaszek, an 8-year-old Petaluma boy who died of cancer in 2014.

Striking Out Childhood Cancer is a fundraiser to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, an organization that has raised more than $100 million for child cancer research and funded more than 500 research projects in more than 102 leading pediatric cancer hospitals throughout the United States - including the funding of several of the doctors who were a part of C.J.’s treatment at University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.

The Striking Out Cancer event features a bowling tournament, followed by a dinner paired with a silent and live auction.

Heather Banaszek, mother of C.J. and community outreach specialist for ALSF, has been playing an important role in the creation of Striking Out Childhood Cancer.

“My husband Cas came up with the idea as a way for us to deal with C.J.’s birthday after talking to a friend who also lost his son,” said Banaszek. “This will be an annual event and a way to remember and celebrate C.J. We decided on bowling, first because C.J. loved to bowl, but also because it is a much more social and inclusive way to gather people together.”

With silent and live auction items up for grabs, such as a week in Kauai, trips to Monterey, Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas, Banaszek hopes to raise at least $50,000 dedicated to the research of childhood cancer.

The event will have a hosted bar with local wines and beer provided by Bacardi, Trinchero Family Estates, and Lagunitas Brewing Company. Dinner will be catered by Lombardi’s Catering. NFL Alumni will be Celebrity Captains for our Diamond Lane Sponsors.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation was created with a simple concept. Alexandra “Alex” Scott, at 4 years old and battling neuroblastoma, wanted to have a lemonade stand to raise money for her hospital. She continued with the lemonade stand until 2004 when she passed away at the age of 8.

“I went to Philadelphia last November to meet Liz Scott, Alex’s mother,” said Banaszek. “I expected to talk with her about the grieving process and about how she started Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. After spending the afternoon with her, she offered me a job as a community outreach specialist. ALSF and Alex are well known in the Philadelphia area where it was founded, but here on the west coast there is a huge opportunity to raise awareness about who we are and what we do.”

C.J., much like Alex Scott, was very generous as a patient in UCSF. He was willing to donate blood in order to benefit childhood cancer research.

“He knew that he was dealt a rotten hand, and he didn’t want anyone else to have to go through what he was dealing with,” said Banaszek. “I quit my job shortly after he was diagnosed in 2012, and knew I would eventually work again, but after we lost him in 2014, I knew whatever I did would have to be meaningful. Having the opportunity to work for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is a natural fit and I feel like C.J. would approve.”

Childhood cancer is a constant fear. In the United States, one in every 285 children are diagnosed with cancer by the time they turn 20 years old, and it is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15.

“It’s terrifying. One of the things that makes it so scary is that the causes of most childhood cancers are unknown and are not strongly linked to lifestyle or environmental risk factors, unlike many adult cancers,” described Banaszek. “And then there are cases like C.J., who had an adult leukemia which is even more rare. It was a genetic mutation, and nobody knows why or exactly when it started.”

C.J. was a young boy with an old soul that has left a lasting impression on the city of Petaluma.

“He was an even tempered and sweet boy, who was smart and had a great sense of humor. He was such a loving part of our family, and he and his sister shared a closeness that I was blessed to witness,” said Banaszek. “And while he was generally a quiet kid with the nickname Mouse, he was stronger than us all. He fought so hard to get well and dug so deep.”

(Contact Kate Hoover at ar gus@arguscourier.com)

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