Cops 4 Cancer happy with fundraising effort

Amanda Bernabei of Dimmick has happily volunteered at Cops 4 Cancer fundraisers the past 12 years, but this weekend’s event was a particularly heartfelt cause.

This weekend’s celebration in Cedar Point was the 20th anniversary of the founding of Cops 4 Cancer but it also was Bernabei’s first without husband Eric, who died in April of stomach cancer. This year, her efforts are in Eric’s memory.

“It’s a little emotional, but I’m glad to be here,” said Bernabei, who is a breast cancer survivor, herself.

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Vocalist Jami Correll and bassist Dan Tremblay of the band Dropt perform at the Cops 4 Cancer event on Friday, July 28, 2023, at Cedar Point. (Kyle Russell for Shaw Media)

After a scorching week, Mother Nature relented and ushered in some cooling breezes and moderate temperatures Saturday just in time for volunteers to replenish the coffers for the next family that comes seeking help with a sick loved one.

Cops 4 Cancer has assisted 714 (and counting) families grappling with cancer. The organization grew from a private fundraiser in 2003 by Terry Guisti and Nick Smudzinski. Today, it’s a nonprofit that has raised and donated about $2 million to the infirm and their families.

While Cops 4 Cancer had no set monetary goal for the two-day bash, Guisti said he was cautiously optimistic of raising the six-figures threshold reaching in previous years, not least because they stretched the event over two days.

“For the heat and storms (Friday night) we actually did fine,” he said, “I was happy with the turnout.”

One reason Guisti was so optimistic is many volunteers were personally touched by cancer and give generously of themselves when funds are needed.

Melissa Mackey, of Spring Valley, was one of the inaugural volunteers – brother Bob Pyszka is a Cops 4 Cancer board member – but, as with Bernabei, cancer struck close to home when her mom, Andrea Pyszka, died in 2020. That made her volunteerism even more heartfelt.

“I would have done it even if mom hadn’t passed,” Mackey said. “It hurts to see what people go through, because I’ve been through it personally.”

Bobby Thompson, of La Salle, a retired Peru police officer, also volunteered with Cops 4 Cancer since its inception and is a board member. Thompson also came to see things from the other side after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, though doctors caught it early and his outlook is positive.

“I’m a survivor and I plan to be around a long time,” Thompson said, “so this is my support to everybody else, because I know what it’s like to get that diagnosis.”