Benefit held for Joby Hawthorne
COSHOCTON – Joby Hawthorne, a 7-year-old student at Coshocton Elementary, was diagnosed on March 7 with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and recently experienced his first round of chemo at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. In keeping with the spirit of Joby’s love for cartoon characters, a benefit was held Thursday, April 2 at RiverFront Lounge with special visits from SpongeBob, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and many others.
“Joby loves cartoon characters, which is the reason we chose this,” said Brenda Mencer, Joby’s great-aunt. “People have been great. They’ve made him blankets and capes with his name on it because he is a superhero.”
Carolyn Roth, Joby’s grandmother, said that Joby reacted to the chemo fairly well with some belly pain afterward. She said that because AML is an aggressive form of cancer, the treatment will need to be aggressive as well. Joby will rest for two weeks before his next chemo treatment to give his body time to build itself back up. He is hoping to be able to go home for a week before his next treatment.
“When you do a benefit, you do the best you can,” said Mencer. “You go above and beyond. But when it’s family, it really hits home. I wanted to do so much more. I contacted a good friend of mine, Dahynin Wilden, who works here (at RiverFront Lounge) to see if we could do something. He asked the owner, and he said they were more than happy to. I’m really thankful they’ve allowed us to have this.”
The benefit started at 6:30 p.m. and the rain didn’t keep people away. The basement of The RiverFront Lounge was filled with many young children and their parents in attendance.
“They were lined up at the door before we even opened,” said Roth. “We had to ask them to wait until we could get all ready.”
Both Roth and Mencer agreed that the Coshocton County community has opened their hearts to them and supported the family every step of the way.
“The family would like to thank the community for their support,” said Mencer. “It’s been tremendous. We’re thankful that the community has come out for this to support Joby. That touches our heart, and every single person has donated money tonight.”
There will be a benefit auction and chili luncheon for Joby on Sunday, April 12 at the Coshocton Moose. Lunch will be served at noon and will consist of choice of chili or chili dog, two sides, dessert, and a drink. The cost is $7 for adults and $5 for children. An extended menu will be available for additional cost. The auction will begin at 2 p.m. There will be a 50/50 and music by DJ Cory Manbeck. For more information or to donate, contact Roth at 740-829-2012 or Mencer at 740-610-4087.
They are also on Facebook. Search ‘Join Joby’s Fight’ on Facebook to Like the page. For more photos of the event, see our website at coshoctonbeacontoday.com.
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places, Photo Galleries
