THUNDER BAY - Amanda, Andrea, and Melissa Hacio have always seen their dad, Chris, as someone there to help them with their school work, to play sports with, or jump in the car for a road trip.
“He’s really been the rock in our lives,” Andrea said. “He’s taught us so much. He’s been there for us no matter what.”
So when Chris was diagnosed with brain cancer in October 2018, the three sisters decided it was their chance to be there to help him, along with countless other families facing a similar life-changing diagnosis.
Earlier this month, the Hacio sisters started Beanies for Brain Cancer, a fundraiser for brain cancer research.
“All of us came together and came up with the idea,” Amanda said. “We knew we really wanted to do something for the cancer centre and we thought what better way to recognize brain cancer than by a hat since you wear it on your head.”
In just two weeks, they sold out of beanies and are working on bringing more in for sale.
“We sold 300 in the first week, which has been incredible,” Amanda said. “We are almost at our goal of $20,000.”
All the money raised is being donated to the Gerry and Nancy Pencer Brain Tumor Centre at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, where Chris received treatment.
“We saw all this stuff going on with research, treatment, and activities with patients and we thought we had to give back to them for everything they have done for us and all the patients,” Andrea said. “We really wanted to make a difference in all the people’s lives and research for brain cancer.”
“We also chose the Cancer Centre because a lot of people from Northwestern Ontario and all across Canada go there, so we thought it was a great area where we could benefit a large amount of people and the research could benefit the entire world.”
Andrea added that Chris always wanted to do something to give back to the Cancer Centre for the treatment he received there and he couldn’t believe it when they told him they already raised more than $10,000.
“He was blown away,” she said. “He’s always been about giving back and he wanted to give back to the centre so that is why we decided to start this project.
The sisters will keep going for as long as they can and Andrea said if they raise enough money, they will look at donating to the regional cancer centre as well.
While Beanies for Cancer is helping people around the world, closer to home it is helping the Hacio family through what has been a very difficult time.
“This project means a lot to not just me, but everyone in our family, especially seeing the support we’ve had so far, and not only locally, but all around the world,” Amanda said.
“I think it really gave us hope in a sense, where we thought once we got this launched we can start making an impact, which isn’t always something you feel like you can do if you’re not in the medical field,” Amanda continued. “Having this fundraiser has really helped us bridge that gap to making a difference where we might not be able to from a health care perspective.”
Hats can be purchased and donations made on the Beanies for Brain Cancer Facebook page @beanies4braincancer.
