A pandemic hasn’t stopped 12 year-old Brooke Bertolino’s momentum in her quest to aid sick children and those who care for them, all in memory of a family friend.
After 11-year-old Aidan Eberhardt – her older brother’s friend and classmate at Saint Mary School, Williamstown – died from brain cancer in 2018, Bertolino decided to start “Brookie’s Cookies and Lemonade Stand” to raise money for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Initially, she sold lemonade, pretzels and cookies at the hospital’s annual Parkway Run and Walk fundraiser. However, after COVID-19 canceled the event the past two years, Bertolino has been taking her wares to the road, setting up a stand at different locations, including her brother’s soccer games and neighborhood yard sales.
As of November, the young parishioner of Our Lady of Peace Parish has raised $2,315 to date for CHOP. This fall’s collection has been almost $700, with a goal of $1,200 by the end of the year.
To donate, visit chop.donordrive.com, and click on fundraisers> Aidan’s Warriors > Brookie’s Cookies. Or via VENMO, @Brookies-Cookies4CHOP.
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