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First Posted: 7/10/2014 When diagnosed with a heavy disease, there is not much anybody can say or do to help in those difficult times.
That doesn&#8217;t mean people are not going to try anyways.
The Wyoming Area Kiwanis Club will be holding a fundraiser at the West Wyoming Hose Company to raise money for Josette Yakobitis, who was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis on Memorial Day of this year.
The fundraiser will go from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 19 with a $10 entrance fee.
Myelofibrosis is a bone marrow disorder that disrupts the body&#8217;s normal production of blood cells. The result is extensive scarring in the bone marrow, leading to severe anemia, weakness, fatigue, and often, an enlarged spleen and liver.
Tiffany Callaio, a 7th and 8th grade math teacher at Wyoming Area, serves as secretary for the Kiwanis Club and is helping to take the lead on organizing the fundraiser.
Callaio knows Yakobitis through the Wyoming Area school, where she serves as a hall monitor.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve always gotten along with her,&#8221; said Callaio. &#8220;She did a lot for the kids, and every senior class she made them different things as going away presents so she&#8217;s very kindhearted.&#8221;
Yakobitis has been a hall monitor at the school for around 10 years, according to Callaio.
Callaio contacted Yakobitis&#8217;s older sister, Annamarie Clate, via Facebook for permission on organizing the event.
Clate said she was blown away and ecstatic about all the support her sister is getting.
&#8220;I&#8217;m blown away by the amount of people, whom I don&#8217;t know, that are helping,&#8221; said Clate. &#8220;They know Josette and she&#8217;s always been helpful so it&#8217;s nice that they&#8217;re all coming around to helping her. She cried when she heard all these people were coming to help her. Good tears though.&#8221;
Clate has since been helping to care for her younger sister, and said she hopes either her, their oldest sister Michelle or younger brother Anthony will be a bone marrow match for Yakobitis.
Unfortunately, treatment or testing of any sort cannot be done until August 1. Until then, Clate said her sister is on pain medication and is trying her best to keep her spirits high.
The fundraiser for Yakobitis will include an all-you-can-eat buffet with food brought in from Gober&#8217;s Deco Lounge in Exeter as well as the Tipsy Turtle, who is serving as a corporate sponsor and where Callaio&#8217;s daughter Faith works. There will also be live entertainment as well as basket and gift certificates being raffled off.
Tickets are available at Gober&#8217;s and donations can be made by contacting the Kiwanis Club at wyomingareakiwanis@email.com.
Callaio said there is no specific goal of money to reach and that they just want to raise as much as they can, but a lofty number would be nice.
&#8220;There is no goal, we just want to raise as much as we can,&#8221; said Callaio. &#8220;Funds for Josette&#8217;s treatment might be low &#8230; $5,000 would be a nice goal to reach.&#8221;
The event has it&#8217;s own Facebook page, &#8220;We Want You Back, Yak,&#8221; with over 60 people RSVPing to the event. Callaio said she also hopes to get WNEP and WBRE to cover the event as well to get as much publicity as possible.
She is not going alone in organizing the event, as the Wyoming Area High School&#8217;s faculty members are also playing a part in helping the event get underway.
&#8220;Secretaries at the high school are helping out too by getting different donations, baskets and going out into the community to see if they can get things for the raffle,&#8221; said Callaio.

‘We Want You Back, Yak’