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Child's memory honored with toy drive
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Submitted Photo Jordan Wilcox
BY BRIAN BISHOP
Family and friends of Jordan Wilcox, who lost a long battle with cancer last December at the age of 7, are determined to keep his memory alive.
They're doing that, in part, with a toy drive to help children at the Syracuse, N.Y. hospital where Jordan Wilcox received treatment for cancer. Jordan's mother, Jodi Lattimer-Wilcox, of Athens, said the idea for the toy drive came from her aunt, Betty Sherwood.
"We know how difficult it is," she said, after spending so much time at the hospital during Jordan Wilcox's illness. Jordan Wilcox spent about one-third of his seven years of life at the Galisano Children's Hospital, she said. "We wanted to bring some sense of normalcy to the families and the patients."
The hospital received quite a few toy donations while the family was there, she said, adding that a simple toy can be a big deal to a sick child.
The response to the Jordan Wilcox Holiday Toy Drive so far has been outstanding, she said, and the family plans on making it a yearly event. They've already collected quite a few items from the community, she said, with drop-off boxes at Moore's Auto Parts in Sayre and the Bradford County Courthouse in Towanda needing to be emptied several times already. The toy drive is also receiving help from the Bradford County Probation Department, she said.
Donations of new, unwrapped toys, games, books, and stuffed animals for the children, as well as items for their families, such as phone cards, gas cards, stationery or gift certificates, can be dropped off by Sunday, Dec. 6, at the WHGL radio station in Troy, Moore's Auto Parts in Sayre, or the Bradford County Courthouse in Towanda.
In addition, members of the Bradford County Probation Office and juveniles on probation will be accepting items for the drive and handing out fliers from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at Wal-Mart in Sayre, Lattimer-Wilcox said.
The items collected will benefit patients and families of the Oncology/Hemotology Unit at Galisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., she said.
Brian Bishop can be reached at (570) 888-9652; or e-mail: bbishop@thedailyreview.com.
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