Girl dies just days after fair auction rallies for her family
By Jason Arndt
Editor
Three days after the Racine County community rose up in support of a girl battling cancer in a very public way, the battle came to a sad end on Tuesday morning, according to a post written by the family.
“Izza passed into the arms of Jesus this morning,” the post on CaringBridge said. “Thank you for praying for our family.”
Eliza Beth, 10, nicknamed Izza by her family, had been diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in 2014 underwent several rounds of treatment before succumbing to the illness.
She left behind parents Pete and Mindy and two siblings.
On Friday, the day before the Livestock Auction at the Racine County Fair, several community members responded to the family’s needs by pooling resources and buying a pig at the auction for $17,810.
Renee Schaal, mother of Michael Schaal, who donated all proceeds from the sale to the Beth family, said the community stepped in when it mattered most.
“It started on Friday, it grew to more than 100 people that came from this community to help out the family,” she said on Sunday. “It really is remarkable.”
The donation, meanwhile, would not have been possible without community members willing to help one of their own.
The bids for Schaal’s pig quickly accelerated well beyond the normal price for swine and kept going.
Diane Dickinson Skewes said the contribution was phenomenal in a social media post about the auction:
“Everyone was clapping and laughing in awe as the bidding went higher and higher. And they watched in amazement at what was happening before their eyes.”
Skewes wrote the support is indicative of the community’s commitment to care for one of its own.
“One little girl and her family in need, one generous 4-H boy and his family, and entire community who cares,” she wrote. “This is what happens in Racine County.”
To read the entire story see the Aug. 1 edition of the Burlington Standard Press or the Aug. 2 editions of the Waterford Post and Westine Report.
Related:
-
-
-
-
-