In Chesco, a carnival joins the fight against cancer

After moving out of their home in Phoenixville and taking time to grieve, the parents of Gabby Vogel, who at age 5 lost her battle with a rare form of brain cancer, made a commitment: They would do all that they could to save other parents from such a tragedy.

They set up a foundation and made a $72,000 pledge to the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Children's Hospital in Wilmington for a playroom named in Gabby's honor.

"As a parent, you look forward to your children's milestones, the 'firsts.' With Gabby, we didn't have those," her father, John, a retired banking executive, said Wednesday. "All those kids, the happiness that playroom brought them, I can say my daughter did that; that was her 'first.' "

Starting Thursday and continuing through Sunday, the foundation will hold its fourth annual fund-raising Carnival for a Cure in Phoenixville's Reeves Park, one of Gabby's favorite places.

The carnival will feature food, live music, and rides, and culminate with a 5K race Sunday afternoon.

Although the Vogels now live in Delaware, John Vogel said that they still consider Phoenixville home, and that the borough and neighboring towns had given the family "amazing" support during Gabby's illness.

John and Carolynn Vogel, who have three other children, are waging their fight by using the proceeds of the Get Well Gabby Foundation, founded in 2012, through which the family has pledged $125,000 directly to the Wilmington hospital. They have donated more than twice that to other hospitals nationwide.

The foundation accepts direct contributions through its website, but the most sizable portion of its revenue comes from fund-raising events such as the carnival. "Gabby didn't get better," John Vogel said. "But our job is to make sure other kids do."

The foundation's total contributions to the hospital approach $150,000, said Mary Hopkins, a gift associate with the Nemours Fund for Children's Health. A large percentage of that provided funding for a pediatric oncology database, an initiative that helped the hospital secure a multimillion dollar grant to continue it. Other hospitals have taken note of it, Hopkins said, so the Vogels' contribution could have wide-ranging, long-lasting effects.

"The impact has been enormous from a research side," Hopkins said. "To have their confidence and support ... I can't say enough."

As for the playroom, it has been a tremendous help to families, Hopkins said. "It's a clean, safe, cheerful place for parents to spend time with their kids at the oncology department," Hopkins said. Besides, volunteers have frequented the playroom, giving parents and siblings a welcome break.

For more information on the Get Well Gabby Foundation and this Carnival for a Cure, go to getwellgabby.org.