Local student raises funds for ‘Team Timko’

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Neighbors | Submitted.Kirsten Pesa (left) started walking for the "Light the Night" fundraiser in 2004 when her father (right), Rick, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Since then, Kirsten has renamed her team in honor of Ava Timko, the daughter of a close friend who was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia before the age of one.

Kirsten Pesa, who has been raising funds for “Team Timko” for several years, is organizing a garage sale fundraiser Sept. 22 in the parking lot of Meyers Equipment Corp., located at 8860 W. Akron Canfield Road.

Pesa started walking in the “Light the Night” fundraiser in 2004 when she was told that her father, Rick Pesa, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2004.

Pesa was in her freshman year at Boardman High School when she decided she wanted to become team captain of her group in the fundraiser. The first year, her team, which included her mother and father, raised $89 for blood cancer reasearch.

Soon after, the daughter of one of Pesa’s closest friends was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia before her first birthday. Pesa decided to rename her group “Team Timko” in honor of, then, baby Ava Timko. Presently, Timko is a 4-year-old survivor of the disease and Pesa’s team has gone on to raise more that $3,000 for her cause.

To make a donation to Team Timko, visit www.lightthenight.org.