To the Editor:

Since I heard about the Rodino family, I have been fundraising for them. It is what I can do to help.

We are having a fundraiser on Thursday, July 24, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Five Guys and TCBY in Guilderland. We will have a DJ (thank you DJ Scott of Hey Mr. DJ), and will sell purple flowers and the famous butterflies Rachel Rodino loved so much!

The Rodino family has been fighting Huntington's disease. This debilitating terminal disease, took the life of 8-year-old daughter Rachel in 2010. Rick Rodino, husband and father of the family, is now in the later stages of the disease and requires 24-hour-a-day care from Lori, his wife.

Their 22-year-old son, Anthony, and 20-year-old daughter, Gianna, have both been diagnosed with the disease. As you can imagine, the diagnosis comes with enormous emotional stress for the family.

With various fundraising efforts, friends and neighbors have been there to help ease their financial struggles, giving at least one less thing to worry about. Our objective is to enable the Rodinos to stay in the comfort of their own home during this difficult time.

Please come out, have dinner, support this family, and enjoy some community spirit!  If you can’t make it, you can also go online to www.rodinofamily.com and donate.

Kathy Burbank
Executive Director
Community Caregivers