KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - Yard Sale Raises $20,000 for Couple Fighting Cancer
Member Center:
by Kim Hynes and Chris Durden
Since the sun came up Saturday, a steady stream of people showed up to shop a benefit yard sale.
Friends and family of Alison and Jeff Hoskins hosted the sale at 21st and Maize. The couple both have cancer. Jeff is in remission and Alison is on her way to the Mayo Clinic for a bone marrow transplant.
The couple have three children and lots of bills. Organizers of the yard sale hoped to raise $10,000. By noon they exceeded that goal, already raising $11,000. When they finished about five o'clock, organizers raised $20,207.
"I feel that all of the hard work we've put into it is really paying off for the Hoskins. They're going to be able to focus on getting better and won't have to worry about finances. I feel very blessed it's worked out the way that it has," says friend Misti Stephen.
by Rebecca Gannon
With three children they need all the help they can get, but not for the reason you might think.
This weekend friends will hold a yard sale -- a big yard sale -- for a Goddard couple with cancer.
"I really think there's going to be something at this sale that appeals to everyone, don't you think? And with the stuff that we've gotten," says Heidi Hoskins with a smile, "I'd come to this sale."
Donations cover the basement floor of the west Wichita home: shoes, shirts, dresses -- both casual, formal, and wedding dresses.
"I would say the most unusual things we've gotten have been the wedding dresses. I just thought that was incredible. Because they were taking something that was so close to their hearts, and they were like, 'Whatever you can get for this family, we'll be thrilled with that'. And we thought that was incredible."
All this is part of a project close to the hearts of many. It's for a yard sale, a big yard sale.
"We had a storage unit donate one space to us, and we very quickly grew out of that." They've filled a second one, as well as rooms, basements, and truck beds across Sedgwick County.
This is a challenge for the friends of the Hoskins family. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I just keep saying, we're running on love."
Hopefully enough love to overcome leukemia and lymphoma. Both Jeff and Allison Hoskins have cancer. The high school sweethearts, parents of three children, are fighting their third battle with cancer in three years.
"We've been through a lot these past three years," says Allison.
She sat on the couch next to her husband, whose dark hair is cut short, but is still longer than what she's had since she started chemotherapy. "So we're hoping for the best."
The couple will spend the next two months at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where Allison will get a bone marrow transplant. Jeff used up all his vacation and sick time with his Leukemia last year.
So every thing donated, collected, or otherwise given to Heidi Hoskins and Misti Stephen will be sold Saturday to help pay the bills that will inevitably come.
Jeff has to take leave without pay since he's already used up all his leave on Leukemia. No one guessed his wife would be diagnosed with Lymphoma the same day he found out he was in remission. Then Allison went into remission and the Lymphoma came back.
"I mean, as soon as they heard I was sick again, they're like," asays Allison clapped her hands, " 'We're doing a fundraiser.' So they've helped out a lot. And I'm just ready for it to be over."
Friends, though overwhelmed, are up to the challenge. "Allison's been my best friend since seventh grade," says Misti Stephen as she sorted sundry shirts, "And we've got 17 years together. Without a shadow of a doubt, if I was ever in her situation, she would help me out. That's why I do this."
So whether it's in the form of shoes, shirts, or something else, it's all hope for the Hoskins.
