Bay Village turns out in support of young girl
Participants in the Mile for Molly walk the path at Bradley Road Park in Bay Village on Aug. 4. Photo by Jim Erlandson
As we've seen time and again, our amazing Bay Village community bands together when one of us is in need. That spirit was on full display Aug. 4 for “The Mile for Molly” fundraiser at Bradley Road Park. Hoping for a crowd of 50 people, we instead had nearly 400 walkers come out to enjoy the beautiful summer evening, walk the Mile for Molly, indulge in some pizza and win some great prizes! I could say that we were surprised by the turnout, but with a community like ours, what else should I expect?
We were blessed with the appearance of a special guest, Miss Molly herself! As per usual, Molly was the added sunshine to an already beautiful day. Her small but mighty 7-year-old self has been fighting Acute Lymphatic Leukemia since the end of June. The strength of her family, the doctors and staff at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, much anonymous assistance and many selfless people, including the organization Little Heroes, have helped immensely.
Molly is putting up a brave fight and, with the support of her family, is showing cancer who is boss. It is great to see her smile start showing through from time to time and see her do some "normal" kid activities, all while receiving chemotherapy.
We kicked off the walk by having a monarch butterfly release done by Molly and her family, courtesy of a Lake Erie Nature & Science Center volunteer. It was a beautiful addition to the event. All in all, the support of family, friends, community and even complete strangers was heartwarmingly generous, and allowed us to exceed our fundraising goals.
I was happily overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity and support given to Molly’s well-deserved family. As Molly continues to fight, additional donations are welcome at her site, welovemolly.com. Many thanks to those who have supported Molly and her family!