Benefit for Hirsch slated for Saturday

The Jacquie Hirsch For "A.L.L." Foundation Benefit will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Leo the Great School, 903 Sweet Home Road (Sweet Home and Maple Roads).

Hirsch, a Williamsville North High School graduate, was diagnosed in late September with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, the most common form of leukemia in children and the most common kind of childhood cancer. The 22-year-old and her family is on a national search to find a match to find a bone marrow transplant.

The National Marrow Donor Program will be in attendance on Saturday to test potential donors for Hirsch and others who need life saving transplants. This consists of four swabs of the inside of your cheek cells with a cotton swab.

A spaghetti dinner, basket raffle, silent auction, bake sale, sale items, 50/50 raffles and other entertainment will also be held.

The proceeds will go directly to Hirsch's uninsured medical expenses associated with curing her from ALL.

If you are not able to make the event, visit www.marrow.org, the National Bone Marrow Donor Program of Upstate New York. There, you can find out where the next and closest bone marrow benefit is taking place.

Jacquie is the daughter of Sharon and Torey Hirsch of Greater Buffalo Gymnastics Center. She has competed in the US Junior Olympic Gymnastics program and was a gymnast at North. She also dove at North and at Geneseo State College, where she is two months short of competing her student teaching.