To make her four-year-old grandson's "yuckies" go away, UB custodian Sally Ann Hunt is asking her family at work to help her family at home.
Rather than stand by while her grandson, Lawson Slaugenhoupt, fights leukemia, Hunt hopes to give Lawson a helping hand on Feb. 25 with a silent auction fundraiser at Ellicott's Wilkeson Coffee House to raise money for his treatment.
"His illness had gone into remission, but he's recently gone a little backwards," Hunt said. "You could say he takes it day by day."
The benefit will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was organized by the UB chapter of the Civil Service Employee Association, and will feature a silent auction, food and beverages, door prizes and a 50/50 split. All students, faculty, staff and members of the community are invited.
Hunt, who works as a custodian in Governors, said Lawson won't be able to attend the fundraiser because his illness leaves him susceptible to different airborne microbes and viruses that are present whenever people gather.
"He's a good little boy who would love to be there but he can't because of the danger of germs in the air," Hunt said.
Lawson's medical treatment is extremely expensive, Hunt said. His daily dose of medication requires 36 pills a day, and he has undergone chemotherapy and continues to receive bone marrow transplants involving painful spinal tapping procedures.
He calls his illness the "yuckies," Hunt said, and he understands that beating it means numerous trips to the doctor's office to receive intensive medical treatment.
"Going to chemotherapy on a regular basis is hard on the poor kid," said Sharleen Marren, who sits on the CSEA committee that organized the benefit. "Especially at that young of an age, we are all trying to give him our support."
Auction prizes include dinner packages, gift certificates from specialty stores and different wines. All who purchase tickets are eligible for the drawing that awards a free massage valued at $50.
"For $10 you get 25 tickets to distribute among the different baskets that represent each prize," Marren said. "You do not need to be present to win. We will contact all the winners."
Justin Alger, hall director of Wilkeson Quad, said he was more than happy to allow the Wilkeson Coffee House to be used for the benefit.
"They asked for it and I'm just happy to help," Alger said, "I'll be participating and giving my full support."
With the silent auction running for most of the day, there will also be a hotdog cookout during the lunch hour on the terrace and snacks throughout.
"Whenever anybody wants to stop in, it's open to all, tell the students to come on over and have a hotdog for lunch," Marren said.
Acute lymphocsytic leukemia, which Lawson has, is the most common type of cancer found in children, representing 23 percent of cancer diagnoses before the age of 15, according to the National Cancer Institute Web site. Over the last 35 years, according to the Web site, advances in medicine and technology have brought the survival rate among children for this leukemia to 80 percent.
"The benefit would not be possible without the support and generosity of my UB family (staff and students)," Hunt said. "My heartfelt thanks goes out to all who bought tickets and to the vendors, businesses, and employees that donated gifts and food for the silent auction, and the CSEA planning committee who put this benefit together."
