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Fundraiser dinners to support Okanagan boy fighting cancer

9-year-old Wills Hodgkinson is back at B.C. Children’s Hospital after being cancer-free for a year
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A very tired Wills Hodgkinson cuddles against his dad Tim, during a surprise trip home in April 2018. The family is back at B.C. Children’s Hospital after Wills’ cancer resurfaced. (Steve Kidd - Western News Staff)

Brennan Phillips, Penticton Western News

The community of Penticton is once again being called upon to rally in support of a local boy whose cancer was found to have resurfaced, earlier this month.

On Saturday, Jan. 4 and Saturday, Jan. 11, fundraisers for nine-year-old Wills Hodgkinson will be hosted at Penticton’s Barley Mill Pub. The events aim to support Hodgkinson in his fight against cancer.

READ MORE: Nine-year-old Penticton boy faces return of lung tumours

After a year of being cancer-free, the Hodgkinson family recently received the unwelcome news that new tumours had been discovered in the young boy’s lungs.

However since then, some progress has been made.

In an update posted by his father Tim on the Facebook group “9 year old Wills fights cancer group”, the smaller of the tumours was successfully removed with surgery on Dec. 21.

Now Wills is heading back into chemotherapy treatment for the second and larger tumour at the B.C. Children’s Hospital.

Word of the young boy’s relapse quickly spread through the community. When the team at the Barley Mill Pub found out, they offered to host the fundraisers in support of the family.

Tickets for the fundraiser were released today, and are available online at Eventbrite. Tickets are a minimum of $25 for adults and $10 for kids under 12, however at checkout you can choose to donate more. One-hundred per cent of funds raised will go towards supporting the Hodgkinson family.

To find out more about the dinners, visit the Facebook event page.

Tim has also set up a foundation to encourage support from organizations and corporate interests not only for Wills but others like him at Wilmsfoundation.com.

For those who cannot attend dinner but would like to donate to the family, visit their Gofundme page: 9 yr Old Wills’ Fights Cancer.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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