Art underwent chemotherapy shortly after Christmas. Unfortunately, the therapy caused his kidneys to fail, necessitating his hospitalization and dialysis at
Heather stayed with Art at night when he was in the hospital, going home every morning to attend to the kids and to provide day care for several area families.
The Warrenville community began to respond immediately. A daily calendar of cooked meals was arranged. A call for food donations was organized. A financial-donations account was set up at NorthStar Credit Union. Friends of the Bovios sent out an appeal via the Village Chronicles, asking for help from the community.
And that was only the beginning.
Heidi Fitzgerald, owner of Heidi’s Salon of Warrenville, immediately grabbed the ball and ran with it. During Breast Cancer Month last year, hair extensions were sold nationwide to raise money, and even though Heidi is not a close friend of the Bovios, she knew the idea was the perfect way to help this family in time of need.
With support from many people, Heidi orchestrated the Rockin the Purple 4 the Bovios fundraiser last Sunday, Jan. 24, at the VFW, where she and a crew of hairdressers sold purple hair extensions at $10 a crack. Those who attended were encouraged to bring food and other necessities, all of which, together with the entire proceeds from selling extensions, were donated to the family.
“Wow it was really something! exclaimed Heidi. We ended up with seven truckloads of dry and canned goods that [are now] overflowing the Bovio’s garage. We raised $1000.00 through a 50-50, and the winner donated their share back to the family. What we made for the family was far beyond our goal and our wildest dreams. Warrenville rocks!
Heidi continued, “So many people had so many stories of how they had experienced hard times, and Warrenville people came out in full force to help, and that's why they were there, trying to give back. We live in a wonderful place to have this kind of support.”
According to Heidi, the donation boxes were full of money, checks and gift cards, and they sold around 550 extensions. “We believe that we had about 1000 people there, but it’s hard to say. The money that we raised was overwhelming. This family is amazing! Art was there the whole time.”
Calls are still coming into Heidi’s salon for all the people who couldn't make it on Sunday. “We have ordered 100 more extensions,” Heidi says. “And we will keep going until they stop asking for them!”
With the school week just starting, Heidi believes it may trigger a second wave of requests. The phone rang off the hook at her salon the following Monday, and 40 more people called on Tuesday morning.
“I’m hoping we’ll end up selling over 1,000 extensions,” says Heidi. “But none of it could have happened without the help of an awful lot of people. I apologize if I missed someone, but here is a list of all those who helped: The VFW-for donating the hall. Minuteman Press-for printing flyers at a huge discount. Accurate Repro-for beautiful signs at cost. Monogram Madness-for their awesome shirts. Tina's Tips and Toes-for assisting with the extensions. Trisha Stalker-for assisting with extensions. Missy Storer, Darci Pinedo, and Peggy Spears-organizing and helping with extensions. Jill Brown-for the slogan idea and tons of hard work. Julie Clark-for logo design and flyers. Kelley Gillenwater-our master organizer. Carla Zweig-for help and support with everything. Judy Bilitzki, Debbie Haak, and all the wonderful bakers. Arron Harper-Kettle corn sales. Healthsource- for Sophie the massage therapist. SH Audio in Warrenville and owner Shawn-for the music.
And let’s not forget Heidi Fitzgerald, who started this wonderful ball rolling.
More photos from this event are posted in the gallery under local events.
