Hope To Help Kid Beat Cancer Driving Force of Fox & Hounds Fundraiser

A Brandon pub’s marathon “Keep Hope Alive” fundraiser, set to benefit a young boy with cancer fight for his life, gets underway 1 p.m. today.

The May 22 event is planned for  1-11 p.m. at on East Brandon Boulevard. The fundraiser will include live entertainment featuring the Irish singer J.J. Smith, local area musicians, a children's play area, pig roast and raffles.

Jackson Laskowski, 4, of Harrisburg, N.C., was diagnosed with liver cancer just before his third birthday. A liver transplant and chemotherapy saw the cancer recede for a time but it returned earlier this year.

"We knew that there was a greater than 70 percent chance that the cancer would come back in his lungs, but I was still surprised, because he had been doing so well and had responded so well to treatments the last few months,” Jackson’s mom, Maggie, told the Cabarrus News, of The Charlotte Observer, earlier this month.

 “It’s something we really wanted to do because it’s for a great cause,” said Tracey Adelhouser, co-owner of the Fox and Hounds. Adelhouser heard about Jackson’s plight from her friend, Donna McCarty, the child’s aunt, who lives in Valrico.

“It’s been a very difficult for the family,” McCarty said. “You try and do whatever you can do but it’s hard to try to console someone from so far away but to watch family go through this is very difficult. They lost their first son five years ago. This is my way to help out.”

The Jackson family lives in North Carolina.

All proceeds from the event benefit the Jackson Laskowski's "Keep Hope Alive Fund" to help with the medical care, life-long treatments and medications not covered by insurance. Donations are also accepted. For more information, contact dam710@gmail.com or call (813) 601-6361.

If interested in making a donation to help the Laskowski family: Jackson Laskowski Keep Hope Alive Fund, c/o St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 1400 Suther Road, Charlotte, N.C., 28213