Two women who collected donations from Sherwin Williams recently are collecting for a legitimate benefit and confusion was strictly a case of mistaken identity.
Maysville Police Chief Ron Rice said he was visited by the women on Thursday and the pair told him the donations they received from Sherwin Williams will go toward a benefit for Christa Blanco, who was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and is currently battling malignant melanoma.
The efforts to raise funds for Blanco were recently featured in a story in The Ledger Independent. A story was also published after an Augusta woman who was soliciting donations for a benefit was told the business had already made a donation to her charity.
RRMS is a chronic disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body.
The two women are trying to collect money for Blanco to fund a stem cell transplant, which is not covered through her insurance.
“Christa’s Cure was originally created to raise funds for Christa L. Blanco’s stem cell transplant in Puebla Mexico with a cost of $54,500, which did not cover pre-admissions testing such as MRI, pulmonary testing, any addition medication that may be needed,” one of the women said. “If infection or other sickness arose during the treatment, that would require hospitalization, none of it would have been included in the stated price. However On April 30, Christa was accepted for the transplant to begin July 17, 2018, by Artemis Hospital located in Delhi, India. This is a great saving as the total cost for all pre-testing, all medications, the HSCT and any and all illness, infections or other medical care that may arise is all included in the $30,600.”
Rice said he believes the mix-up was an honest mistake.
“It was a situation where I believe the paint store made an honest mistake,” Rice said. “When the women came in, the store did give the women a donation of paint and some supplies. However, when (Jamie Jett-Hurst) requested donations for her benefit, the store believed them to be the same thing.”
Rice said both benefits are legitimate.
Moving forward, he cautioned businesses and anyone donating to a cause to keep accurate records.
“It’s great that we live in a community where so many merchants want to help others,” he said. “I would say that all need to be cautious and maintain some kind of documents regarding their donations, so, moving forward, we don’t confuse one good cause with another.”
A benefit concert for Blanco will be held May 12 from 6-8 p.m., at the Light of the World Community Church in Maysville.
A GoFundMe page, which can found at https://www.gofundme.com/christascurehas also been set up under the name of Christa’s Cure.
There is also a PayPal donation page that has been set up at https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/82XtdD0m3P.
