- November 16, 2024
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Joe Rizzo has never met Brayden Lane, but he still led thousands of troops of Brayden’s Army to his secluded restaurant, The Bull Creek Fish Camp, for the “Day of Bray” fundraiser on Saturday, June 20.
“I don’t need to know the family,” an emotional Rizzo said. “This is something that people, who care about people, do. As a member of this part of the community, trying to lend a helping hand, we offered to have the fundraiser out here, which was bigger than we anticipated. There are thousands of people out here with the same goal in mind, which is to take care of this child who needs help.”
People from Ormond Beach, Daytona, Hastings and other cities crowded the lakeside restaurant to enjoy food, fishing, raffles and auctions. Items donated to be auctioned off included Chipper Jones memorabilia, which he personally donated, a Michael Kors purse, a rifle, a 40-inch Sony TV and much more.
According to Jessica White and Lisa Bordis, his mother’s closest friends, Brayden’s army has even expanded beyond the surrounding cities to throughout the country.
“We have received donations from people in Alabama, Alaska, North Dakota, everywhere,” White said. “At first, we weren’t even sure about starting a GoFundMe account, but within a week we had raised over $7,000. It’s been amazing.”
“When Brayden got diagnosed, the insurance company notified the family that that they had $18,000 in out-of-pocket bills to cover most of the medical expenses, and we wanted to come up with a way to raise the money,” Bordis said. “Joe was very helpful, and the community has done so many things to assist the family. The day after we started his Facebook page, there were over 1,000 on his page.” Now, there are over 2,600 followers on Brayden’s Facebook page.
While a “Day for Bray” was going on at Bull Creek, teams and individuals were also competing in a two-day softball and corn hole tournament to benefit Bray. All the entry fees will be donated to him.
Frank Santana, the DJ for the fundraiser, and employee of Flagler Palm Coast High School, reached out to the family, when he heard that Brittney Hedetniemi, a former Bulldogs’ son needed help.
“My heart went out to them,” he said. “My own son suffered cancer back when he was 16 years old, and he’s 32 now. Cancer not only affects the person, but friends, especially the family. I have six kids of my own, so it definitely hits home, and I just wanted to help out.”
The Daytona Tortugas have dedicated their July 31st game to Brayden, and they will be donating half of all the presold tickets of the game to him. Tickets can be purchased on Brayden’s Facebook page or his website.
“It makes you think you still live in a good world,” said Scott Norton, about all the reception his family has received since Brayden’s diagnosis. My son’s my world, and it just blows my mind that this many people will take the time out of their day to do something like this for my son. A lot of people here have been doing everything they can to help us out, these past few weeks, and it’s just amazing.”
“You can’t prepare yourself for anything like that,” he added. “You can role play in your mind, when you try to prepare for something, but nothing on this scale. Bumps and bruises along the way, but not a disease like this.”
To attend any future events for Brayden, go to braydensarmy.org, and to join his army, like his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BraydensArmy.
Say what? Steve Cohen and a father of a kid were bidding on an autographed baseball, signed by Chipper Jones. When Cohen outbid the father, he still gave the kid the baseball.
