The fundraiser will be held at High Country Beverage, located at 4200 Ronald Reagan Blvd. in Johnstown, and Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano in Loveland will be donating the Italian dinner, said 9-year-old host Adi Mazza, who is from Salida but fundraises across the state. Doors open at 4 p.m. and the dinner begins at 5 p.m.
There will also be a silent auction, a 50/50 raffle and a cookie sale, she said. Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased online by donating to Adi’s fundraiser, fundraising.stjude.org/goto/Adi-9thbirthday, and then the donor can email adiscoookiestand@gmail.com with their name and the number of tickets purchased.
“I just like helping the kids and I like to see the other people (donors) help them too,” Adi said. St. Jude is a research hospital focused on treating and curing childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases, but no families who receive care ever get a bill.
Adi has been fundraising for St. Jude since she was almost 5 years old, she said, adding that instead of asking for gifts for her birthday that year, she baked cookies and donated the profits. Adi still sells cookies to raise funds, but no longer bakes them herself; Mary’s Mountain Cookies in Windsor now donates cookies for the 9-year-old to sell. Along with fundraiser dinners, Adi has hosted golf and cornhole tournaments for St. Jude.
“I just wanted to help the kids get better,” Adi said. She was inspired by St. Jude commercials on TV and her mom Jenniffer Mazza’s fundraising for St. Jude through a Fort Collins chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, a service organization.
Each year, Adi’s fundraising goal gets bigger and bigger, she said, adding that she’s intimated by her $75,000 goal, but will be proud of any amount she raises. Adi has raised over $42,000 this year. Last year she surpassed her $20,000 goal by $36,000, she said, adding that next year she’s hoping to raise $90,000.
“Her dad and I are so proud of her,” Jenniffer Mazza said, adding that she’s amazed her daughter can raise thousands of dollars in just a day. “… It’s selfless and she just wants to help kids get better.”
Information about Adi’s fundraiser is available online, adiscookiestand.wixsite.com/cookies.