October 19, 2006 Issue                                       

Click Here

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Run for Hill of it still running with Dinner Dance
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

“Giraffe in Pastorius Park,” an oil painting by Chestnut Hill AbZOOlutely artist Kathleen Scott Gallagher, will be auctioned off during Run for the Hill of It’s Dinner Dance and Auction, Oct. 28.

The finish line has been crossed and generous donations collected, but the Friends of Erik still isn’t finished raising funds for the Dahmm family.

On Oct. 28, the group will hold its 19th annual Run for the Hill of It Dinner Dance and Auction — an event that is a follow up to its 5K Run for the Hill and 1K walk in the summer.

Already, about $50,000 has been raised for the Dahmm family through the run and individual donations, according to Shannon Leber, event coordinator for the dinner dance. She said she expects that the dinner dance and auction will add at least $10,000 more.

Each year Friends of Erik chooses a family with a severely ill child to be the recipients of the community events’ proceeds.

The Engwall’s were the first family to benefit from the run and dance in its second year (in the first year, all proceeds were donated to Cystic Fibrosis research). Bill Shea, former co-chair of the Friends and a friend of Anne McNally, owner of McNally’s Tavern (a major sponsor of the race and dance), met Erik while visiting Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Erik, who died in 1990 at the age of 13, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when he was three months old and spent many of his 13 years at CHOP receiving treatment. Shea was so moved by Erik and his parents, Judy and Eric, that he worked with McNally to raise money for the family, and since then the run and dance have been geared to a family in need.

Judy and Eric are still involved in Friends activities today as committee members, annually presenting the Friends of Erik Award and last year hosting the dance’s auction.

“I’m honored to be a member,” Judy said. “It’s amazing to see how it affects the children, just to see the smile on their faces.”

She said that before Erik died 16 years ago, he told her that when he was better, he wanted to join the Friends of Erik and help kids.

“We’re doing his work for him,” she said, by joining the committee and helping these families.

This year’s run and dance beneficiaries are Hayden and Ethan Dahmm, 13-year-old twins who were born three months premature.

Hayden is legally blind and an eighth grader at E. T. Richardson Middle School, in Springfield (Delaware County), Pa., where the boys live with their mother, Cynthia. Hayden not only excels in his studies, but also is the author and illustrator of a comic book, “Our Toilet Superhero,” which he sold autographed copies of during July’s Run for the Hill of It race. He has given all of the money he made on the comic book to local charities.

His twin brother Ethan has been completely blind since he was three months old as a result of complications from prematurity. Cerebral palsy confines him to a wheel chair, and epilepsy and severe reflux require constant care and attention from their mother, Cynthia. But despite these obstacles, he is a constant audience for his brother Hayden, loving the stories he reads to him. Ethan also recites favorite poems by heart.

In December, the Dahmm family suffered a terrible loss when the boys’ father and Cynthia’s husband, Martin Dahmm, died suddenly. She said in a previous report in the Local that it was hard to consider her family as one in need.

“I’ve always been the one to donate to charity or volunteer my time for others less fortunate,” she said in July. “I never realized how hard it is to be on this side.”

She said she intends to put the money in a trust for Hayden’s college expenses and special needs care for Ethan.

Both the boys and their mother attended the race in July, and Cynthia and Hayden will be attending the Dinner Dance and Auction. Ethan’s attendance is dependent upon how he feels.

The dance will begin at 7 p.m. and last until midnight. The evening starts off with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, with music provided by BeauJazz. Guests can mingle against a floral backdrop of autumn colors (interlaced with plenty of purple, as it is the boys’ favorite color) assembled by Robertson’s Flowers.

When dancing begins, the music will switch to more of a rock-sound, with Six Pack providing the beat. All the while the silent auction of items from various Chestnut Hill businesses will be ongoing. The evening will close with a live auction hosted by Phil Martelli, coach of the Saint Joseph’s University basketball team.

Ticket prices are $60 in advance or $70 at the door – if available – and this year the Run for the Hill of It Dinner Dance and Auction be held at a new venue: the newly opened Woodward Gymnasium at Chestnut Hill Academy.

Tickets can be purchased by contacting Friends of Erik at , and donations can be made by contacting Shannon Leber at 215-273-7635 or through the above e-mail address.

Research by staff writer Jennifer Katz contributed to this article.

Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 215-248-8819 or Kristin@chestnuthilllocal.com.