A benefit was held Jan. 9 at Potts Doggie Shop, 2428 Cherryville Road, Northamption, to raise funds for cancer warrior Jillian Sayre, who has been battling medulloblastoma, a form of pediatric brain cancer, since she was diagnosed at age 7.

The benefit was sponsored by the Marie Mazziotta Cancer Fund, set up by Potts co-owners Mark and Bob Mazziotta in honor of their sister, who died of breast cancer in 2006.

“She had six children and no money,” Mark Mazziotta said, so they started by holding dances at St. Francis of Assisi in Allentown to raise funds to help with medical bills and the needs of the kids.

After their sister died, transitioning to helping other kids was a “no-brainer,” according to Mazziotta.

“We wanted to help kids who had cancer or were terminally ill whose families had no money,” he said.

This especially included people with little or no health insurance.

“You look at a kid who has good health coverage; they don’t need it as much as this kid did,” he said, referring to Jillian.

Mazziotta says he looks to Travis Pezutto, a Lehigh County adult probation officer, to help him find families to sponsor. Mazziotta met Pezutto through his father, who worked as an Easton probation officer. Pezutto has established his own cancer fund and works tirelessly to help homeless and otherwise less fortunate people.

“He’s a great kid,” Mazziotta said.

Pezutto reportedly comes to Mazziotta once every two years with a list of names of kids who need help, and together, they decide on who to help that year. Sometimes, there will be more than one, and the proceeds are split down the middle. More often, they choose to focus on just one family.

They hold benefits every two years. Mazziotta has found through experience that “if you do something every year, people are more apt to stay away and have the attitude of ‘Well, I gave last year.’ If you don’t put so much pressure on people, and do it every two years, you make more money.”

They choose to help mostly local kids for the same reason.

“It just makes more sense to help someone locally because more people get involved if they know that person is from that immediate community,” Mazziotta said. “You identify with the person and the family; you identify with the situation. It makes people more apt to come out and donate. And people have been wonderful.”

Mazziotta disclosed they had already raised $8,000 through donation boxes by 3 p.m. Jan. 8, though the actual benefit wasn’t held until the next day. In addition, Konkrete Creamery, the ice cream store next door, took in $1,500. The creamery is run by Bob Mazziotta’s daughter, Gina.

All said and done, they raised $18,500 for the cause.

“My family, we never touch a dime of this money; in fact, we contribute to it,” Mazziotta said. “We put approximately $4,000 worth of materials toward it, and here, I’ve got to credit Tracy Emanuel, because she does all the ordering, and I’d be lost without her. Whatever we have in the building that day and 100 percent of the proceeds go toward the benefit.

“She (Jillian) owns the building from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. After that, I take it back!” Mazziotta said, adding that he’s happiest when he’s helping someone. “If you know me, I have fun!”

Mazziotta feels giving is its own greatest gift and would like to shed light on the fact that these families really need help.

Jillian, now a sophomore at Emmaus High School, might sound like a lot of other students her age. She loves to dance and listen to music, naming Taylor Swift as one of her favorite artists and country music as her favorite genre. She also loves to write.

But her life has been changed forever by her diagnosis of brain cancer.

What makes Jillian different is that instead of thinking of herself, she is always thinking of other kids who are going through the same things as her. She is an active member of East Penn School District’s Pediatric Cancer Club and is on the board of the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley. Additionally, she helps raise funds for teenagers with cancer through her “Be Brave, Be Strong, Be Youthful” project.

She is also Miss March on the Angel 34 fundraiser calendar.

“With all my experience of fighting over eight years now, it just makes me realize how much I want to give back to this community, and I definitely want to work in the medical field, but more specifically, as a child life specialist. That’s probably my dream job,” Jillian said.

Child life specialists focus on the patients themselves, assisting with emotional, social and intellectual aspects of their lives, according to Lehigh Valley Health Network. They dedicate their days to organizing stress-relieving activities and exercises for the patients, attempting to comfort them in times of distress or confusion while receiving treatment.

Working with the patient’s medical care team, child life specialists are friendly faces to turn to for the kids and help them deal with the mental struggles associated with going through the change of a cancer diagnosis.

“I want to make children smile through their unfortunate time in the hospital,” Jillian added.

A trooper through thick and thin, Jillian was present on her day at Potts, even though the weather was far from cooperative, with fog and ice finally giving way to a cold, gray day.

“I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who were at Potts on my day, and I would just like to thank them all for supporting the cause,” she said.

Two weeks later, she returned with her family to accept the donation check.

“It’s definitely something to know that so many people care about pediatric cancer,” Jillian said. “Mr. Mark is a pretty awesome person.”