ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. — Creating good out of tragedy is a Manatee County family’s mission after losing their 9-year-old daughter to cancer.
That’s why for the past few weeks, family members of little Grace Irwin have been going to businesses from Bradenton to Anna Maria Island collecting donations for Saturday.
Her uncle, Scott Viehman, stopped by the Shiny Fish Emporium to get a gift basket to auction.
“Hey guys. Oh look at this,” he says upon seeing the basket.
Inside are items Grace would have loved.
“Little mermaid dolls, ukuleles, sunglasses, beach goggles,” said Rebecca Preston, the Shiny Fish Emporium owner.
Viehman is collecting these and other donations for the Hunt for the Cure Scavenger Hunt.
“It is kind of helping us keep her name alive,” he said. “She passed at such a young age, that was one of our worries. Is she going to be remembered? What is she going to be remembered for? And if she was still, she would be wanting to help as many people as she can.”
Said Preston: “She was just a sweetie pie, a sweet heart,”
Grace was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, in 2022, right before Christmas.
Viehman said doctors put her on an aggressive chemo and radiation plan, but the cancer spread.
“They were forced with the almost impossible task of deciding: Do we continue treatment, and extend life for another couple weeks? Or do we take her home and make her comfortable?” said Viehman.
Her family brought her home and filled her remaining days with as much fun and laughter as possible.
Grace died in July 2023 at 9 years-old.
“Basically, we looked at this situation as the worst tragedy that has ever happened to our family. But we knew in all the darkness we had to find the light,” said Viehman.
In the time following, the family started the Grace Irwin Memorial Fund, with the goal to raise money for childhood cancer research.
The first big event is the Hunt for the Cure Scavenger Hunt.
“This is going to be the event space,” said Viehman in the Anna Maria Island Community Center. “We are going to have some live entertainment. We will have complimentary beverages, we will have a food truck right outside. And a huge silent auction.”
The money raised during the scavenger hunt will go to the Children’s Cancer Research Fund.
People can still sign up, with the event kicking off at 11 a.m. on Saturday Feb. 17.
Erin Murray
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