A bowl-a-thon to benefit Ava Grace Setliff was held at the Rocky Mount Bowling Center February 16th.
One year old girls are known for their ability to draw the best from the people around them. Ava Grace Setliff is a one year old who has brought the best out in a community!
Ava Grace was born February 12, 2007 to Dwight and Brandy Setliff of Franklin County. She was born with Pfeiffer Syndrome, a craniofacial disorder that makes life a little different for her than the life of most one year olds. As Ava Grace grows she will have to have multiple stage surgeries to minimize craniofacial deformities. She is seen by her doctors on a regular basis to evaluate her development and condition so they can plan the surgeries accordingly.
Brandy Setliff shared that there are other children who have the same or similar disorders as Ava Grace, but they are not in our area. Approximately 1 in 100,000 children are affected by Pfeiffer Syndrome. She has just recently received information on how she can contact other families whose children also have Pfeiffer Syndrome, and hopes that they will be a good resource for additional support for her family.
When Valerie Hodges discovered Ava Grace’s needs, she knew that the Setliff family would need financial support as Ava Grace faces her long term health care. Hodges quickly began to make plans to gather as much support for the Setliff family as she could. By September, a softball tournament was hosted at the Doe Run Ball Field, a golf tournament was hosted at Willow Creek Country Club in October and a spaghetti dinner was held in December. Since September, roughly $13,000 in financial support has been earned to help offset medical bills.
February 16th found the community rallying with the Setliff family at the Rocky Mount Bowling Center for a bowl-a-thon! 104 participants bowled three games each in an effort to raise money for Ava Grace. Every lane was taken as young people...and young at heart people, spent a Saturday afternoon having fun while they helped a neighbor! As a local Girl Scout leader, Hodges invited area girl scouts to participate, and approximately fifty girl scouts and their families accepted the invitation. Jordan Talley, a Franklin County girl scout, wanted to help but knew she would be out of town the day of the event. Despite the fact that she would not be able to attend, Jordan raised $1300 for the event.
Area business owners also helped to make the day a success. Rocky Mount Bowling Center discounted the price for each game played and for shoe rental. The Vintage Spa, Redwood Express Mart and The Comfort Inn all made contributions for door prizes to be given to the participants. Chip Anglin and Misty Griffith were the winners of a 50/50 raffle collected for the event and generously donated their portion back to the fund raising effort!
Cheryl Woody of the local Children’s Miracle Network has announced that Riverside Lanes and Food Lion # 464 will also sponsor a bowl-a-thon that will be held at Riverside Lanes in Danville March 9th at 2 PM to benefit Ava Grace.
The actual amount earned for Ava Grace from the bowl-a-thon won’t be finalized for a few days, but Hodges estimates that $5000 to $6000 will be earned as a result of this fund raising event. Despite the success of her earlier fund raising efforts, Hodges admitted she was a little apprehensive about the outcome of the bowl-a-thon. If the results are any indication, it is apparent that her heart is guiding her efforts very well!
The Ava Grace Setliff Benefit Fund was established in September 2007. If you would like to make a contribution to help the Setliff family, you can go to any Franklin Community Bank to make a donation. Donations are tax deductible. For more information you may contact Valerie Hodges at 483-2921.
Take a look at our photo gallery of this great fund raiser:
Set 1 - Set 2
