Apr 26th, 2010

LAKE WALES – Downtown Lake Wales will become one big fundraiser on Saturday, as local residents look for creative ways to help a Babson Park boy who has spent the past several months in the hospital.

Fourth grader Andrew Rose is undergoing treatment for stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. He first began receiving treatments in December.

On Saturday, friends have organized the “Andrew Rose Benefit” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Park Avenue Hairplace, 116 E. Park Ave. All proceeds from the event will go to Andrew’s family.

The hair salon will offer $5 children’s haircuts and $10 adult haircuts. The band “Roughshod” will provide live music. There will be snow cones, popcorn, free face painting, and mini massages available. Barbecue dinners will be available for $8. Organizers also are selling tickets for a wide variety of prizes, including a six-month membership to the Lake Wales YMCA.

In mid-March, students and families at the school collected change and larger donations to help Andrew’s family offset some of the expenses related to extended stays in Gainesville.

“As you can imagine, this is a tough time for Andrew and his family,” said Principal Ken Henson.

Henson and other Babson Park staff members have made several trips to Gainesville to visit Andrew in the hospital. The Lake Wales Charter Schools system has provided Andrew with a laptop computer, and Babson Park teachers have sent schoolwork that he can do in the hospital. Except for a couple of brief visits home, Andrew has been in the hospital receiving treatment since the beginning of December.

PHOTO #1: Andrew Rose is a fourth grade student at Dale R. Fair Babson Park Elementary School.