When Delaney Brown and her friends set out to raise money for an iPad for friend and classmate Nate Gipe they didn’t expect the support.
Gipe, a Clarkston High School junior, who is in the marching band, drama club, CSMTech and National Honor Society was diagnosed with ALL – Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in April 2014.
He is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
“He is just a great person,” said Jillian Ritchey.
“If you don’t know Nate – he has such a positive energy,” Brown said. “He is even optimistic about this whole thing. He realizes it’s cancer so it’s not the best situation, but he is making the best out of it. He is being light-hearted and making jokes about it.”
They started out selling bracelets in orange saying “Live Well and Laugh Often” to raise money for an iPad for Gipe so he had something to take with him when he received treatments and could do school work on it.
The e-blast went out in August that the bracelets would be on sale during student registration.
Someone ended up donating an iPad.
“It was amazing,” Brown smiled. “It was so quick after we sent out the e-blast. Now all the money is going towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Nate’s name.”
“It only shows how awesome people are,” Ritchey added. “To tell people we are donating all the money is pretty cool.?
Brown added the idea for a fundraiser came with help from her mom.
“She had surgery and she was thinking about how generous people were for her,” she explained. “Nate is such an amazing person. Everyone in Clarkston knows him. I thought everyone would be willing to fundraise for him. We thought bracelets would be good because we have done it in the past and they have sold pretty well.”
They were able to purchase the bracelets with help from Knights of Columbus in Rochester Hills.
“They donated money to purchase bracelets and some Tootsie Rolls to give out at orientation when we sold the bracelets,” Brown added.
Ritchey and Brown feel grateful to help Gipe out.
“He has done so much for me,” Brown said. “When I am having a bad day, I am able to talk to him and he just makes me feel better. Being able to do this for him is giving him back in a material way what he has given me.”
“If you know Nate or not, just send prayers and best wishes his way and let him and his family know you are supporting them,” Ritchey added.
Students at Clarkston High School are not just showing their support wearing the bracelets and also wearing orange.
The Jungle, the student cheering section at athletic events, wore orange during the Wolves’ Varsity Football game against Bloomfield Hills on Sept. 6.
“Nate is really optimistic and I know everyone being optimistic for him has really helped him get through it, too,” Brown added.
Bracelets are still available for $2.