There was a sea of light blue in the stands at the Blackhawks’ doubleheader on Monday, Feb. 14, at Sanborn Central. People were drawn to the gym, not only to support the Blackhawks, but also to show support both physically and financially for young Jalyn Bender, a second grader at Sanborn Central, who is recovering from surgery that removed a benign tumor from around her brain stem. 

Jalyn’s mother, Jenica (Pearson) Bender is an alumnus of Sanborn Central High School, and she has worked at the Woonsocket Healthcare Center as a CMA. So, the employees of the clinic took t-shirt orders to raise funds to help with Jalyn’s medical expenses, and everyone who bought a shirt was asked to wear them to the games Monday night to show their support for Jalyn and her family. The t-shirt sales raised over $5,000 for the family.

In addition, on the night of the ball games, organizers put together a chili and soup feed to raise funds for the Bender family. There was also a bake sale, a few things raffled off and a chuck-a-duck contest, with all the proceeds going to Jalyn and her family. With all the activities at the ball games that night, they made $5,816.02 to help the family. 

…See pictures in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!