Fund-Raiser For Freeman Youth Planned

An unusual event to help a Freeman youth with colon cancer is coming up this weekend.

The Jon Koch Rock Walk will take place from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday in the Freeman Junior High School gym.

Jon Koch, an eighth-grader, had surgery for colon cancer last month. He is due to start chemotherapy this week.

Family friend Valerie Wilkerson and other friends have organized the fund-raiser to help the Koch family with expenses.

But the Rock Walk has another twist to it.

Students are painting fist-sized rocks with the names of cancer survivors and cancer victims. The rocks will be set around the gymnasium, along with murals to create the sense of an outside walk. Participants can buy a rock by making a donation. Or on Saturday they can have a rock custom painted with the name of a loved one.

Participants also can secure pledges for their walk, or simply make a donation and walk.

“Don’t ask me where I came up with the idea, because I don’t know,” Wilkerson said, adding that she wanted some way for the Freeman eighth-graders to understand how many people, beyond their friend Jon, are affected by cancer.

“I was looking for a way to get them involved, and I think I found it,” she said.

Freeman Junior High School students also have worn T-shirts honoring Koch. The T-shirts are decorated with snowboards on the front and “Go Kochie” on the back.

About 200 were sold, with proceeds also going to the Koch family.

The Freeman community and area churches and businesses have also support the project.

“People have been extraordinarily generous,” Wilkerson said. “It’s nice to live in a community like this.”