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AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. SERVING MACOMB SINCE 1905.
WesternCourier.com
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 - Vol. 120 Issue 42
Squeezing lemons to save lifes
JIMMY PIERSON/ PRODUCTION MANAGER
By Marc Ramirez news editor
Love Your Melon will be pairing with Alex’s Lemonade Stand in efforts to raise money for the Foundation for Childhood Cancer from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Macomb Courthouse. “Love Your Melon is an apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer and supporting the fight against pediatric cancer,” loveyourmelon.com reads. The stand was renamed Jace’s Lemonade Stand for the event, in honor of Jace Skwara, a 4-year-old stage four neuroblastoma survivor. Skwara was diagnosed as young as four months old when a fatty lump was discovered on his back. Nearly four years later, Skwara is already helping spread awareness and help end the fight for generations to come. Skwara is well-known across this campus due to his presence among RockyTHON, formerly Dance Marathon. He has been a miracle child at the main Dance Marathon event for the past three years and
has formed close bonds with members of the Executive Board. “Here is Jace’s lemonade stand page,” Alisha Skwara, Jace’s mother said in a Facebook post early Tuesday morning. “If you can’t make it out to Macomb, please consider clicking the link and donating directly. We are excited to see our WIU family and raise money for a cure! Make sure to tag Macomb friends below and share for those not in Macomb.” The description of the fundraiser says that Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation was founded to move one step closer to finding a cure for all children with cancer. You can join the movement by helping plan an event, attending events or making a donation right on a fundraising page. The money you donate will pay for research to find better treatments and cures for childhood cancer. Skwara’s lemonade stand will be a part of Dickens on the Square, which takes place on Friday. The fundraising goal is currently listed at $100; however, the group hopes to raise more, have fun and spread some holiday cheer.
@WesternCourier
JIMMY PIERSON/ PRODUCTION MANAGER
By Marc Ramirez news editor
Forgottonia Brewery will be hosting a fundraiser today from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. called “Beers and Benches” to create welcoming public benches. John Bannon, Community Development Coordinator, is looking for members to help volunteer or simply spread the work of the event. The event will have a 50/50 raffle and silent auction of generous items donated by businesses, people and restaurants across the city of Macomb. The event will also feature what is called Build a Better Block, an initiative that’s aimed towards cleaning, maintaining and making Macomb look like a space people would want to live. This would even include wel-
coming spaces where people of Macomb could gather and interact. One project consists of collecting recyclable bottle caps to be used to make benches through a program called Green Tree Plastic runs. Each bench requires $250 in addition to 200 pounds of plastic cups. They are taken for several months to Green Tree Plastics where they are converted into sturdy benches. Build a Better Block Macomb will be pairing with ROYALS, Regional Office Youth Alternative Learning Services, to clean, sort and prepare caps to be made into benches. They will also work together to strategically place these new benches around the Macomb area. With the announcement of the initiative, many members of the community got behind
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it. According to Linda Lee Blaine, Build a Better Block member, it is believed that there are enough bottle caps to build two benches. The purpose of the Beers and Benches fundraiser is to gain enough revenue to convert caps into benches and ship them from Evansville, Ind. to Macomb. Prairie Hills Resource Conservation and Development will be accepting donations on behalf of the project. The event is open and free to the public, located at Forgottonia Brewery at 324 N. Lafayette St. To learn more, people are encouraged to visit facebook.com/betterblockmacomb or call at 309-3337394. If people are interested in volunteering, the event team could use help setting up and decorating beginning at 4:30 p.m.