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BLOOMINGDALE - Paperboy in walkathon to raise money for cousin
(by Sid Johnston - Staff Writer - September 10, 2008)
BLOOMINGDALE - Darren Russo, a 12-year-old paperboy for Suburban Trends, is participating in a walkathon to raise money to help his five-year-old cousin, Daniel Shadek, with his illness.
Russo, who has delivered the Trends for more than a year, is participating in this event because Shadek suffers from Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). It’s My Heart, a non-profit organization that spreads awareness about various congenital heart defects (CHD), will be sponsoring the walkathon on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Ridgewood Duck Pond in Ridgewood.
According to the American Heart Association, HLHS is “a rare congenital heart defect, in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped. The left ventricle and aorta are developed so small, that it restricts the amount of blood flowing through the body, causing shock and in some cases, death.”
Russo has participated in various events before for CHD awareness. Kim Shadek, who is president of It’s My Heart’s North Jersey chapter as well as Daniel’s mother and Russo’s aunt and godmother, said that she is amazed to see the level of caring Russo has displayed.
“It’s a very emotional thing, and it means more than I can explain to see Darren participating in events like this,” Shadek said. “He is a very caring and emotional child.”
According to Shadek, Russo participated in quarterly events at Wal-Mart selling baked goods and collecting funds and has used his paper route to pass out a flyer to collect items for a comfort bag that It’s My Heart distributes to local hospitals. Russo even donated 25 percent of his tips from the paper route towards CHD awareness, Shadek said. Russo has already raised $750 in donations from local businesses and relatives, Shadek said.
The walkathon isn’t the only way Russo is getting physically active.
“I play baseball and basketball and football,” Russo said. “I want to be a running back for the New York Giants one day.”
His cousin has different dreams.
“I want to be a maharaja (a ruler from India) and sing and sit under a tree and sleep all day,” Daniel said.
The donations from the walkathon will be split and distributed to CHD research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The remainder will go towards hospital comfort bags for families with CHD and a legacy box for parents whose children have passed away due to CHD. The legacy box comes with a disposable camera and space to hold various memorabilia of the child.
The registration fee is $25 before the day of the event and $30 on the day for anyone who wants to participate. Walkers under 16 can walk for free.
According to its Web site, It’s My Heart’s mission statement is “to provide support, spread awareness, educate and advocate for those affected by Congenital Heart Defects by creating alliances with fellow families, hospitals, support groups, and the community.”
“Twice as many children die from CHDs each year than from all forms of childhood cancers combined, yet the funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than for CHD,” Shadek said.
Anyone who wants to sponsor Russo can e-mail Shadek at kim.shadek@itsmyheart.org. For more information about It’s My Heart and its mission, contact Shadek at 973-291-4676, or visit its Web site, itsmyheart.org.
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