Little Greta Loewen was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer known as Ewing’s Sarcoma just before Christmas.
Greta and her family have a challenging road ahead, but through the difficult times, their community is banding together to help.
Family friend Eileen Fisher organized a bottle drive in Abbotsford this weekend to raise money for the Loewens.
“If you have a child, you can relate. Your most important thing is the health of your family,” says Fisher.
Fisher posted the event on Facebook last week and two dozen volunteers stepped forward to make today’s charity event happen.
Five-year-old Greta is currently undergoing treatment and chemotherapy at BC Children’s Hospital and her self-employed parents, Tim Loewen and Heather Munro want to make sure they spend every moment with their little girl. They own a local art shop in Abbotsford, and say they will be taking time off work to help take care of Greta.
“Tim and I are both self employed so we will be without an income this year,” Heather posted on Facebook.
Friends hope the money raised will help Greta’s parents focus on their little girl and not have to worry about paying the bills.
They have three other children who are being taken care of by their grandparents as Heather and Tim support Greta in a battle no child should ever have to fight.
Hundreds of people showed up to today’s event with bags stuffed with bottles. Sheanna Haner, a Mission resident, who saw the post online about Greta, posted her own message on facebook offering to help pick up bottles from others.
“It was a whole bunch of lovely families from Mission I just went around and picked up. I put a facebook message on saying if there was anyone interested I’d do the pickups and I did. I got lots.”
The response from the bottle drive was so great, three trucks stopped by to haul all the bottles away.
There is also a YouCaring.com fundraising page online. Greta’s cancer is so rare, specific treatments are in the U.S. and her family may need the money to head south of the border.
The bottle drive won’t take away Greta’s cancer, but it has given her parents’ hope, and the comfort of knowing they have an entire community behind them.
“We can’t thank you all enough for everything that you’re doing. It’s not about the bottles or the money raised here. This amazing and overwhelming response to help this little girl (my little girl) goes way beyond anything words could ever express. Heartwarming. You’ve warmed our hearts, you’ve given us hope. As we face this challenge in all its enormity, we feel your love and support and it lifts this crushing weight off our hearts, and replaces the helplessness and the fear with peace and love and hope.”
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