Teenagers raise money for classmate’s cancer foundation

The class of 2011 at Alburnett High want you to help nickel and dime cancer to honor their classmate, Ben Ries.

Before Ries died of cancer in 2005 at age 12, he expressed his wishes to help other children with cancer and their families. His classmates have launched a fundraiser, Coins for a Cure, to raise $15,000 for Aiming for a Cure, a foundation set up in 2003 by Ries, his parents, Steve and Jodie, and his sister, Rachel.

“It helps carry on what he started,” says Alex Rickels, Alburnett senior and Coins for a Cure committee member. “He was selfless and wanted to help other sick kids. It's the least we can do.”

About 40 donation cans for Coins for a Cure have been placed in businesses not only in Alburnett and Central City, but throughout Eastern Iowa.

“There have been places where we didn't even get the cans down and people were putting money in them,” says Deb Berg, of Robins, whose son, Zach, is a Coins for a Cure committee member.

Other fundraising events planned include bed races at Alburnett Children's Benefit Days, bake sales, carwash, silent auction, gift wrapping and a dance-a-thon.

Members of the committee - Rickels, Berg, Clint Francois, Jordan Neighbor and Kelsey Saddoris - met Ries in kindergarten at Alburnett.

When he was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor, in first grade, his young classmates didn't understand.

“We thought, ‘what's cancer?'” Francois says. “We thought it was a cold.”

“He sat by me and I wondered where he was when he was gone a lot,” Rickels says.

During the next five years, as Ries battled cancer and spent countless hours at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital in Iowa City, his classmates were forever touched by his positive spirit.

“He always fought in everything,” Francois says. “You couldn't tell by his attitude he had cancer.”

Spending so much time at the hospital, Ries became concerned about other pediatric cancer patients and their families. His father, Steve, a lifelong hunter and professional dog breeder, organized Aiming for a Cure to raise money for cancer research and to provide support for the hospital's patients and their families.

Aiming for a Cure sponsors an annual celebrity hunt at which about 80 hunters pay to participate in guided pheasant hunts at the Highland Hideaway Hunt Club near Riverside. A banquet is then held later that evening, raising funds through tickets, corporate sponsorships and an auction.

Since its inception in 2003, Aiming for a Cure has raised more than $860,000. As well as research, funds go toward travel, phone cards, funerals and shopping sprees for the University of Iowa Children's Hospital cancer unit.

“It's one less thing to worry about expenses,” Steve Ries says.

Alburnett's Class of 2011 plans to present the Ries family with at least $15,000 for Aiming for a Cure at the senior banquet the day before graduation next May.

While Steve and Jodie Ries are overwhelmed with the generosity of their son's classmates, it doesn't surprise them.

“They are a unique group,” Steve Ries says. “Even Ben recognized that. He wanted to stay with his class.”

“From kindergarten on, they have been special kids,” agrees Jodie Ries.