Ironton and its surrounding communities may be small, but the people in them are pulling together in a big way to help a local woman battling a serious disease.

Abbey Bentley Hamilton, 27, and a 2002 Ironton High School graduate, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in September. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments are a burden Abbey must bear, as well as rising costs and expenses due to medical care and a leave of absence from her job.

To try to offset those costs, countless people from the community have rallied to organize fundraisers and sell ribbons and T-shirts in support of Abbey. Businesses have also stepped up to donate portions of their sales.

The Giovanni’s in Coal Grove donated 5 percent of their total sales for Tuesdays in February to Abbey’s cause.

Owner John Suitor said there was also a donation jar set out on those Tuesdays for patrons to donate. The first day it was set out, Suitor said about $700 was raised just from the jar alone. He also said that day gave the restaurant its largest sales ever in his 37 years at the restaurant.

“It was the largest volume in sales we ever had,” Suitor said. “We had to take the phones off the hook for five hours. Everybody in Lawrence County must have known that girl.”

Suitor also said someone from Cincinnati called and paid for three party specials, after which the caller requested his purchase be given away locally.

“It just amazed me with the amount of people that came out to support that girl,” Suitor said.

Suitor said he doesn’t know Abbey personally, but he is acquainted with her father and brother, and got an impression of her from patrons at the restaurant.

“The most common thing I heard was, ‘what a sweetheart she is,’” he said.

He also said he had to staff twice the number of employees those days, but that all his employees stepped up tremendously to help serve the increase in customers.

Saturday, Peddler’s Home Cooking, 2225 S. Third St., will donate 30 percent of its sales from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In addition to the staff at Peddler’s, family members and friends of Abbey, as well as other volunteers will help serve patrons. There will also be door prizes and raffle drawings.

VFW Post 8850, on South Third Street, will also host a benefit Saturday. Abbey is a member of the post’s auxiliary.

From 2 p.m. to midnight, the post will take a $10 cover charge donation with proceeds going to Abbey. There will be free food, live music, raffles and door prizes.

The Ironton High Class of 2002 will have a rummage/bake sale fundraiser for Abbey, with a goal to raise $2,002. The sale will start at 8 a.m. at the city building. There will also be raffles and a Kindle Fire up for grabs.

Casey Anderson Harbour, also a IHS 2002 graduate, is helping to organize and gather items for the sale.

“Abbey is an incredible person,” Harbour said. “It’s not surprising to me at all that everyone is coming together to help Abbey. She was so nice to everyone.”

Harbour also said a Facebook page titled “Ironton & Saint Joe Classes of 2002” has brought a lot of awareness and support to Abbey.

“All the people on the page, we didn’t necessarily run together in high school, but everyone has come together for a really nice girl,” she said.

Murphy’s Pub held a fundraiser last week that brought in about $2,600 for Abbey.

Various other individuals have stepped up to raise money on their own by selling items or donating money from their own companies.

Mandi McFann, a Thirty-One consultant, donated 10 percent of her commission to Abbey.

Valerie Freeman, who was a teacher’s assistant at IHS when Abbey was a student, is selling T-shirts through her family’s business, Treasure from the Valley. Shirts are $10 for sizes small through XL. Double-X through 4X are $15. They can be purchased through their Facebook page, “Treasures from the Valley & Sunshine Baskets.”

Freeman also said she wasn’t surprised that the community was rallying for Abbey.

“Our community is well-known for helping one another,” she said. “This is what small town, hometown tradition is all about. And Abbey was about that in high school, always there to help pay it forward.”

 

Follow Michelle Goodman on Twitter: @Michelle_Journo