Benefit set for Troy Parke Aug. 15

TROY PARKE

A benefit fundraiser for Cottonwood resident Troy Parke will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Cottonwood Community Center. Parke was diagnosed Feb. 12 with Multiple Myeloma Stage III.

The fundraiser for Parke is sponsored by members of the Cottonwood community and headed by Sandy Cappello, owner of Sandy's Specialties. A Philly cheese steak sandwich with all the fixin's that Cappello has dubbed the Troy Boy will be on sale.

Drawings for a television, a portrait package, and other items donated by community residents will be offered.

A hand-made quilt will also be auctioned.

Presale tickets for the event will be $10.00 with proceeds donated to the Troy Parke Fund.

Parke will be going to U.C. San Francisco to have stem cells harvested from his spine for a bone marrow transplant. He will then have three to five weeks of chemotherapy. After the chemotherapy, Parke will return to the hospital and have the stem cells transplanted back into his spine. This process is called an auto logous stem cell transplant.

"The doctors are treating the cancer aggressively to lengthen my life," stated Parke.

Before learning that he had Multiple Myeloma, Parke worked out of town quite a bit on computer jobs. Currently, due to treatments, he is only working part time from home. Parke is a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America and youth programs with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He has coached T-ball, baseball teams in the Cottonwood Community and is a Cottonwood Foundation for Excellent Schools volunteer. He was instrumental in getting the bond passed for the building North Cottonwood School.

Parke has been married to his wife Deborah for 18 years. They have four children including Ryan, 15, Jon, 11, Sarah, 8, and Kaleb, 6.

The fund-raiser will help the Parke family pay some of their bills while he is unable to work due to extensive treatments. The Troy Parke Fund account has also been established at Redding Bank of Commerce.

"My family and I would like to thank all the great people here in Cottonwood for all that they have done for us. So many people are willing and able to help," Parke said of the financial and emotional support he is receiving.