Superheroes and princesses raise money for cancer research
Superheroes and princesses dotted the ice at Royal LePage Place Arena in West Kelowna on Family Day. Many children and adults were wearing costumes at the fifth annual fundraiser in memory of Paige Moench, who died Aug. 6, 2013, just before her second birthday.
“I think we have between 150 and 200 people out there right now,” said Natelle Moench. “It’s a bigger turnout than last year, for sure.”
Paige died of a rare and aggressive form of leukemia.
“She didn’t live six months from the date of diagnosis,” Natelle said. “In that time, we realized there was a substantial lack of funding to pediatric cancers, so we wanted to do what we could to help.”
In five years, through a variety of events, the foundation established in Paige’s memory has raised more than $50,000 for research into pediatric cancer research.
“We’ve been really proud of our events and what we’ve been able to do,” Natelle said. “For me, it was the way I grieved for Paige in the early years after she passed. I felt that it helped me hold her memory and also help other kids out, potentially.”