Neighbor News
Local Teen Honors Cousin With "Quarter Mile" Fundraiser Event
Jaime Myers, 16, teams with local nonprofit to help raise funds for a service dog
Jaime Myers, 16, is never one to back down from a challenge. The high school junior and aspiring Music Therapist was looking for an organization with which to volunteer her time and came across In Love And Song, a nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life for brain tumor and brain cancer patients. The cause is close to her heart, as her cousin recently passed from a brain tumor.
Jaime is collecting quarters through June. She hopes to collect 15,840 quarters, enough to span a quarter mile, by placing collection cans in local businesses. In celebration, The Quarter Mile Event will be held on Friday, June 28, 2024, at Lebanon Township Memorial Park in Califon, NJ, from 4-7:30PM. There will be live music, including Disney and Taylor Swift singalongs, an open mic, and a performance from the Clinton Music Studios Major Band. Radio Station Magic 98.3 will also be present to support Jaime. The highlight of the event will be the “can dump,” in which Jaime will put all collected quarters end to end along a quarter mile stretch to see if she can surpass her goal. If Jaime is successful, the collected quarters will total $3,960. The event is free to attend, with food and merchandise available for purchase.
All of the funds raised go toward sponsoring a service dog for a brain tumor or brain cancer patient. Deborah Rizzo, founder of In Love And Song, says, “The wonderfully ironic thing is that reaching the fundraising goal of $3,960 would get us a quarter of the way to sponsoring a dog.” Service dogs cost between $15,000 and $16,000. “To alleviate the financial burden of getting a service dog while simultaneously improving a patient’s quality of life embodies our mission. Jaime’s can-do spirit and positive attitude towards raising brain tumor awareness is the icing on an already sweet cake. We’re so lucky to work side by side with her.”
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For more information on The Quarter Mile Event and where and how to donate quarters, please visit www.inloveandsong.org/quarter-mile. In Love And Song can be reached by phone at 908-468-2480 and by email at inloveandsongorg@gmail.com.
About In Love And Song:
In Love And Song is a NJ nonprofit founded in 2023. With a focus on improving the quality of life for brain tumor and brain cancer patients and their caregivers, In Love And Song’s mission is to build a community stronger than any brain tumor. Events like The Quarter Mile directly support the mission of In Love And Song.
