Brett Lewis and childhood cancer survivor Sean Fridella are working with many other students at Mountain Brook Junior High to coordinate a Halloween fundraising campaign. Journal photo by Kaitlin Candelaria
By Kaitlin Candelaria
Mountain Brook residents should add some change to the candy bowl this year on All Hallow’s Eve. What started out as a school project has turned into a full-blown Halloween fundraiser for pediatric cancer awareness.
Last year, Sean Fridella and his Mountain Brook Junior High classmates were given an hour each week in English class to work on personal projects. The program, called Genius Hour, encourages students to think outside the box.
Fridella said many of his classmates focused on things like interior design, building model houses and designing guitars. But Fridella, who is a four-time pediatric cancer survivor, picked something a little closer to home.
“Pediatric cancer only gets 4 percent (of federal funding), which is a lot, but it’s not enough,” Fridella said. “Compared to breast cancer and other types of cancer who get so much more, it’s not enough. We want to raise awareness for this.”
The idea Fridella came up with is Pedia-Trick or Treat. He launched his Halloween campaign with a kick-off party on Sept. 27 in front of Snoozy’s Kids in Mountain Brook. The party included a band, food provided by Urban Cookhouse and more information about the fundraising campaign, which will take place Oct. 31.
“We had donations and T-shirt sales (at the kick-off party) but now we have to keep it going within the community,” said Nell Fridella, Sean’s mother. “We want all the kids to get their T-shirts and all the money we raise will go to pediatric cancer research at Children’s of Alabama.”
Children who want to participate can begin by going to Mountain Brook Sporting Goods, buying a $15 T-shirt and picking up boxes, which the Fridellas are designing. Then on Halloween while trick-or-treating, they simply ask people to contribute loose change they may have laying around.
Sean says several of the larger Mountain Brook Halloween parties also will have boxes where people can contribute to the cause. On Nov. 1, everyone can bring their donation to Emmet O’Neal Library at 2 p.m.
Sean said he was inspired by Relay for Life when planning the fundraiser.
“It’s a great fundraiser and it’s so much fun and it’s a great thing for the community, but it’s in the spring,” Sean said. “That money goes to a national organization, but this money stays local. This money goes straight to the hospital.”
Sean has a board of his peers helping him plan the fundraiser, including Brett Lewis, who is working to promote the event through social media using the hashtag #morethanfour, which is often used in conjunction with childhood cancer awareness and refers to the lack of federal funding.
Sean also is honoring a fellow classmate who is battling childhood cancer. The purple and yellow ribbons that went up around the city of Mountain Brook earlier this year to support Sid Ortis in his battle with cancer are reminiscent of the royal blue ribbons that decorated the mailboxes around the city years ago when Sean was battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
As a part of the campaign, the T-shirts the children will be wearing will have yellow childhood cancer ribbons on them – one that says “Sean Strong” and one that says “Sid Strong.”
“I think the most important thing is the awareness and the fact that pediatric cancer gets such little funding,” Sean said. “That’s what we’re trying to change.”
