Solace for Stephanie Fighting Cancer with Comedy

REGIONAL – As Solace for Stephanie will tell you, cancer is no laughing matter, except for one night a year, when the 13-year-old non-profit organization assembles some of the best comics in the area to raise money to help those fighting cancer.
Named for Stephanie Jenkins, a popular Rowley hairdresser, mother, wife, sister and friend, who died of cancer in 2010, the all-volunteer Solace assists dozens of cancer victims each year with gift cards for food and gas, prescriptions, massages and physical therapy.
Since Stephanie’s death, Solace has assisted 104 people suffering with cancer, including three current victims.
The all-volunteer organization, which is still run by Stephanie’s friends and family, also funded the construction of the Eiras playground that is being renovated by the town of Rowley.
Solace’s popular comedy night will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 12 at Coolidge Hall on the Topsfield Fairgrounds. Besides dinner by Dinner Ala Cart and a full bar, comedians Paul Gilligan, Paul D’Angelo and Mitch Stinson will keep the audience in stitches. And they often bring along friends, who are equally funny,
The tickets for the fundraiser sell only on-line for $65 at solaceforstephanie.org.
Among those victims of the disease helped by the revenues from the Comedy Night, plus numerous private donations, is five-year-old Eva, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when she was only two and a half years old. The cancer, initially in remission, reoccurred when she was four and required a bone marrow transplant. Her twin brother, Joey, was the donor.
“Eva’s doing very well,” Laura, her mother, wrote recently to MaryAnn Levasseur, who with Stephanie’s family members are the guiding forces behind Solace.
The transplant operation last October “was incredibly difficult and scary,” her mother wrote. “Her little body was put under such incredible stress, but with the help of her unbelievable team at (Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center) she has come through it and is thriving!”
The whole family had to stay in isolation for eight months to prevent any infection.
The leukemia has not returned, but it is “an incredibly crafty, sneaky cancer.” As of today, Eva has had clear bone marrow checks and nothing to indicate that her transplant was less than successful, Laura wrote.
Eva is “a happy, goofy, kind, thoughtful, intelligent, curious child, who we simply cannot wait to unleash upon the world,” her mother wrote.
Eva and Joey, now five years old, are planning to enter the Clark School kindergarten in the fall, barring any complications with the disease. Her story was featured during the Jimmy Fund telethon at Fenway Park.
“We thank everyone at Solace for Stephanie for their support and will keep you updated on the many adventures of miss Eva June in the weeks and months ahead!” Laura wrote.
In the small world category, Eva’s father, Jeff, was a cousin of Stephanie Jenkins.
“If you have supported Solace for Stephanie, you are indeed a part of this story. Thank you!” Levasseur wrote to her supporters, whom she calls her angels.
The Comedy Night has already sold 200 tickets, far more than the 90 sold by this time last year, Levasseur said.
She attributed the increase in ticket sales in large part to the BNI business networking group that invited her to be its 21st member. The group, which meets weekly at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Topsfield, is composed of bankers, insurance brokers, lawyers, real estate agents, small business owners and a couple of non-profit volunteers like Levasseur.
“All have done something,” she said of the group. “Their energy, attention and commitment has made the difference this year.”
One of the group held a fundraiser at her gym. Others have created baskets to raffle off at the Comedy Night. “These are $300 and $500 baskets,” she said. One member is offering to paint a room for the winner of the raffle. Another gave a tree to be auctioned off. And yet another designed Solace’s new logo.
“They are a ray of sunshine,” Levasseur said.
Among those Solace helped last year was Jim Wilson, the editor of The Town Common, after a 30-year career in the photography department of the Boston Globe. Jim was one of the first supporters of Solace after Stephanie died. He donated his photography skills to promote Solace and gave his popular Good Earth soy candles for the event.
Last November, Jim died of cancer himself, leaving a great hole for his family and friends.