Carrie Kuzik and her charity are looking to put the “fun” in “fundraiser” next month.
Carrie is the driving force behind the Hunter’s Fight for a Cure Foundation of Alberta, a non-profit organization named after her seven-year-old son, Hunter, that raises money for research into rare blood disorders at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.
On Saturday, Sept. 17, the foundation is hosting a family fun day at Lions Park, featuring entertaining activities for all ages.
Carrie said the family fun day is designed to get kids involved, not just their parents.
“The last three years, we’ve done something that’s only for the adults, so we thought it would be nice to take a break from that,” she said, noting that this event replaces a fun money casino night, which had run for the past three years.
“We thought, let’s just focus on fun this year, and do something where kids can get involved. I think it’s important for kids to learn about fundraising at an early age, how important it is to give back,” she said.
Hunter suffers from Diamond Blackfan anemia, a condition in which his bone marrow fails to produce enough red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body. Only 25 to 35 new cases of the disease are diagnosed in North America each year.
In some cases, there are no outward physical signs of DBA, but others — like Hunter — are born with cleft lips or palates or other abnormal features in their faces, heads or hands.
But rather than let the disease get him down, Carrie said he is full of life, and has even taken on a pivotal role in organizing the family fun day.
“He’s in charge of the obstacle course,” Carrie said, “and he made sure to let me know he’s going to test it out first, just to make sure it works OK. He’s really excited for that.”
Aside from the obstacle course, there will be a barbecue, a ball pit, bouncy castles, carnival games, princesses, glitter tattoos and balloon artists. There will even be a magic show featuring Edmonton magician Dave Thiel at 3:30 p.m.
“We don’t want it to seem like, if you don’t have kids, you can’t come,” Carrie said. “There’s definitely going to be something for everybody.”
The foundation is selling tickets to the event to raise money, but the event will also include a raffle, with tickets priced at $2 each and prizes including a men’s Bulova watch from St. Albert Watch and Jewelry and a diamond penguin necklace from J.M. Turner Goldsmith in Morinville. Cash donations will also be collected the day of the event.
So far, the response has been positive.
“If you look at our Facebook page, there are 35 or 36 people saying they’re coming, and I thought, ‘If they all bring their families,’ counting in my head, that’s three or four times that,” she said, adding that she hopes to get a good walk-up crowd spilling over after the weekly farmers’ market in downtown St. Albert closes for the day.
Though he’s only seven, Hunter has already undergone 121 blood transfusions — one every three weeks — and undergoes chelation therapy every night, which helps remove iron from his blood stream.
But Carrie said he’s still going strong, and the foundation is still going strong, too, as it has donated $95,000 to the Stollery over its history, and both Hunter and Carrie are flying to Ottawa in September — the day after the family fun day, actually — to receive an award from Canadian Blood Services.
The Hunter’s Fight for a Cure Foundation of Alberta family fun day runs from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Lions Park. Tickets are $10 each or $30 for a family of up to five people (kids under two are free) and are available through foundation members, by calling Carrie at 780-982-1968 or by emailing [email protected].
