A dinner to benefit a local family battling leukemia will be held at McCormick Woods next weekend.
The Hunter Smith Benefit is scheduled for June 6, and will include dinner at The Clubhouse and a silent auction of donated items.
“We have a bunch of stuff donated from local businesses,” said Tim Jewitt, who works with Hunter’s father, Rob Smith, as a firefighter with North Mason Fire District 2. “We have airline tickets, wake boards, and a lot of baskets.”
Jewitt, who has worked with Smith for two years, said the Smith family — which includes his wife Jaymi, a 2003 South Kitsap High School graduate and youngest son Hudson — found out last November that Hunter, almost 3, has leukemia.
Since then, the family has struggled to pay for medical care and countless other stresses, and Smith’s fellow firefighters are trying to find ways to help.
Earlier this year, Jewitt said everyone who works with Smith on “A Shift” participated in the Columbia Tower stair climb in Seattle that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. However, the group also wanted to hold an event that could support the family more directly.
“Asa department, we wanted to help them as much as possibly financially, especially with Rob having to quit his second job,” he said.
And while some of the proceeds from the dinner will benefit the Smiths, Jewitt said that all of the proceeds from the silent auction will go directly to the family.
The desire to help one another, Jewitt said, is common amongst firefighters and their families.
“One of the greatest things about our job is the camaraderie, or ‘brotherhood,’ of firefighters,” he said. “We spend so much time together, and have to rely on each other in so many different scenarios that we have an enhanced bond.”
Jewitt said the group has sold about 50 tickets for the benefit next weekend, but hopes to sell more by the deadline, which is tomorrow.
“We were hoping to reach the 130, 150 mark, but a lot of people are feeling the crunch of the economy,” he said, explaining that a lot of people have expressed interest in coming who likely won’t be able to afford the dinner.
For those who won’t be able to attend but would like to support the family, Jewitt said there was an account set up at Washington Mutual, now Chase, and that donations should be accepted at any local Washington Mutual/Chase branch for the Hunter Smith Benefit account.
For tickets, call (909) 910-0644, or e-mail tjewitt21@yahoo.com.
If You Go
What: Hunter Smith Benefit
When: Saturday, June 6, from 5 to 9 p.m.
Where: McCormick Woods
How much: Tickets are $55, or $100 per couple. Call (909)910-0644.
