Fund drive helps second-grader help others

LIVING DOLL  Katie Castronovo, a second-grader at St. Joseph School, Mendham, raised money to buy dolls for girls under­going cancer treatment. Above, she delivered her donations, which include toys, to Kelly Blanchette, child life specialist in hematology and oncology at the Valerie Fund at Goryeb Children’s Hospital, Morristown.

MENDHAM  Last month, seven-year-old Katie Castronovo, a second-grader at St. Joseph School here came up with a bright idea: raise $140 for an American Girl doll that has no hair for a local hospital to serve as a support to girls who had lost or will lose their hair during treatment for childhood cancer.

The canonization of St. Mother Teresa on Sept. 4 inspired her to plan to set up an apple cider stand in front of her family’s house in Mendham later that month. It was part of a larger fund drive that has netted about $1,000 in donations. On Oct. 21, Katie visited staff at the Valerie Fund at Goryeb Children’s Hospital, Morristown, to donate the fruits of her faith-filled efforts — five American Girl dolls along and assorted toys, said Amy Castronovo, Katie’s mother.

“We are completely overwhelmed with the outpouring of generosity. The cider stand was an amazing success,” said Amy Castronovo, who noted that several people, who read a story about Katie’s drive in that week’s issue of The Beacon stopped by to donate. “The most touching was a mom with her two daughters. Her son is at the Valerie Center and they came from Chatham to donate in person. She was able to give us a lot of information about the girls and boys who are there. It was so meaningful that she would come and share her experiences with us,” she said.

With her $1,000 in proceeds, Katie bought five American Girl dolls, four with hair and one without. She had $300 left over and contacted Kelly Blanchette, child life specialist in hematology and oncology at the Valerie Fund Children’s Center, to see if the facility had any other needs in addition to dolls. Katie took Blanchette’s suggestions and purchased smaller toys for its toy box, such as Barbie dolls and Matchbox cars. Katie and her mother visited Blanchette on Oct. 21 to present the donations, said Amy Castronovo, also co-chair of community/Christian service for St. Joseph’s Home School Board.

In the past, she has donated some of her birthday and Christmas gift money to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Also, she had participated in service projects at St. Joseph School.

“I was listening to the canonization of St. Teresa. I wanted to do something like her. That afternoon, I was looking through my American Girl doll catalog and saw a doll without hair,” said Katie, who belongs to St. Joseph Parish, with her family. “I thought that it would be nice if the girls with cancer in the hospital had a doll to play with while getting treatment. Also, they would have a doll that looks like them,” she said.

Katie and her mother also sent invitations for donations to friends, family and members of the St. Joseph’s community. One of the many contributors was the school’s principal, Lisa Gillespie.

“This [fund drive for the dolls] has been amazing,” said Gillespie, who also credited the generosity of countless contributors. “We are very proud of Katie and her initiative, selflessness and desire to help people in need. At St. Joseph’s, we teach students to remember what Jesus would do. Katie is a living example of that,” she said.