A Facebook event asking for donations to fund the wish of six-year-old cancer survivor Halle Popowich has gone viral.
Jennifer Doucette-Giordano said she set up the page called Halle’s Wish on Wednesday. The fundraiser asks Save-On Foods cardholders to donate 1,000 points. The store will later match the donation at a rate of $1 per 1,000 points.
The message was since picked up by The Community of St. Albert Facebook page and Doucette-Giordano said it was shared more than 20,000 times.
“We were expecting it to gradually take off but I’ve been on the computer all day answering people’s questions,” she said.
“It’s kind of exciting and I am really hopeful that we’ll be able to raise this for Halle.”
Popowich was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia on June of 2012. She underwent months of treatment, which included a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
The Children’s Wish Foundation since decided to fulfill Halle’s wish of getting a new piece of playground equipment for her St. Albert school, J.J. Nearing Catholic Elementary School.
But Doucette-Giordano said playground equipment is expensive and the wish foundation has a limited budget.
Halle’s parents are helping to fund the project but they still need money to prepare the ground of the play area.
So Doucette-Giordano, whose husband Davey Giordano works with Save-On Foods in Edmonton, said they decided to work with the family to complete the park.
The minimum amount needed is $20,000.
“They have to dig up the ground and do a cement edging that has to be filled with sand,” she said.
“And we were hoping that if we went over $20,000 that we could add to it, so that it wouldn’t just be the one piece but kind of her little playground with two or three more pieces.”
Doucette-Giordano said they are also setting up a link on the school’s website for people to donate directly to the school. Save-On Foods cannot accept monetary donations at this time.
Anyone wanting to make monetary donations can also mail or take a cheque or money order to J.J. Nearing school at 196 Deer Ridge Dr.
The locations of Save-On Foods accepting point donations in St. Albert are North and Village Landing. Edmonton locations are Mayfield, Oxford, Ellerslie, Stadium and Baseline in Sherwood Park.
