Garden Catering X Golden Lights
Meet Willa, daughter of Tina Carpenteri - co-owner of Garden Catering. Tina has this to say about Willa -
Queen Willa - That was the nickname that was given to my 4 year old after she was diagnosed with Leukemia, specifically B Cell ALL, back in May. What a fitting nickname for someone who likes to be the boss, especially when playing Willa’s restaurant with friends, is funny, fierce and can gain the attention of a room with her infectious laugh and smile. Her spirit and resilience have helped get me through the hardest days.
Willa’s prognosis is good, and she has responded well to treatment. Her treatment plan is a two-year course that includes port and oral chemo along with steroid pulses and other medications to assist in the process of removing the cancer cells. As much as she does not like going to the hospital or clinic, she never wants to leave! She loves all the nurses and doctors and they make her feel so special when she is there.
As September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month and it felt like the right time to start to connect with other families going through a similar experience. I came across The Gold Lights Foundation, a local foundation whose goal is to find and fund cutting edge research to eliminate any barriers that prevent potential life changing treatments from being used on those who need it the most – our children. They were hosting a half marathon and 5k run. I set up our team- “Queen Willa”- and began to spread the word about Willa’s fight and The Golden Lights Foundation. A few days later I received an email from Gregg, the founder. I assumed it was a generic thank you email for setting up a team, but it was an email that gave me the chills. Gregg mentioned that our team name stood out to him and the reason for that is because his daughter is also Willa and they started the foundation after her battle with cancer. This was a sign to me that we chose the right time to talk about Willa’s fight and the right organization to support.
The crew here at Garden Catering wanted to continue to do something to support Golden Lights and we would be absolutely honored if you would join us.
After raising over $21,000 through our guests we invite you to donate directly to Golden Lights on the Garden Catering page.