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Car show to defray girl’s medical bills
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Tabitha Fiorenza
Video
By Jon Moffett
BOARDMAN — Calling all cars with the drive to help a family in need.
Sunday is the 31st annual Cars in the Park show, hosted by the Mahoning Valley Olde Car Club. The show will be at Boardman Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is expected to bring in more than 200 classic cars and enthusiasts. The event is free to the public with donations accepted.
Donations will go toward a local child, Tabitha Fiorenza, who suffered from a heart-related condition.
Known as Tabby to her friends and family, she was diagnosed with double right ventricle outlet with pulmonary atresia, a condition in which a person is born without the valve to regulate blood flow to the lungs. The 8-year-old Struthers native has since received a heart transplant, a story The Vindicator covered last November.
Tabby’s parents, Michael and Lori, have accrued significant hospital bills, and the MVOCC hopes it and the community can help alleviate some of the financial stress.
The club will make a donation and encourages the public to do the same.
“We hope to just raise some money for the family,” said Rich Posivak, event chairman. “They’ve taken on a lot of bills.”
Tabby’s family expressed appreciation for the club and its efforts to help out.
“It means a lot to all of us,” said Michael Fiorenza. “The money they raise will go toward bills, medication and anything she’ll need to take care of everything.”
Tabby’s grandmother, Francy Fiorenza, said, “It means a lot because she does go to biopsies once a month, and they can get quite pricey.”
Michael said the money will help with bills and groceries and “day-to-day” expenses. He added that Tabby is feeling well, and her surgery was very successful. She is now a typical, energetic child, he said.
The event will feature the car show and the second annual All-County Pinewood Derby Race. Also at the event will be a 50/50 raffle, Chinese auction, food, door prizes and awards for the cars in multiple categories.
Derby cars must be registered before the event through the club’s Web site, www.mvocc.com, or the day of the event and require a $1 entry fee. The race is open to ages 5 to 17, and awards will be given.
The event also will feature food and live entertainment from the band Two’s Company. The show is sponsored by more than 120 area businesses with six, according to a news release, designated as major sponsors. Those businesses are Billet Landscaping, Salem Glass and Mirror, Udder Cream, Snyder’s Antique Auto Parts, Valley Insurance Group and Becker Funeral Homes.
The MVOCC was established in 1977 by several classic-car aficionados who would meet at Southern Park Mall. There are now more than 200 members who meet each month to share their interests. The club hosts a weekly car cruise from May until September from 6 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday at the Chik-fil-A restaurant on U.S. Route 224.
The MVOCC also has donated more than $50,000 to Hospice of the Valley and area children over the past decade.
jmoffett@vindy.com