SIMI VALLEY : Fund-Raiser to Help Children Get Their Wish

When 4-year-old Stacy Youngblood was diagnosed with leukemia in 1988, the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted the Simi Valley girl’s request and sent her and her family to Walt Disney World in Florida.

Today, Stacy’s illness is in remission. But her parents believe they still owe a debt to that organization, which helps fulfill the wishes of children who have a life-threatening illness.

The result is “Stacy’s Wish for Life,” a fund-raising flea market the Youngbloods have organized four out of the past five years.

“My husband and I want to do our share to make it possible for other kids to have their wishes granted,” said Stacy’s mother, Nancy Youngblood.

She said the past three events have raised more than $18,000 for Make-A-Wish and the Leukemia Society of America, which finances research aimed at finding a cure for the disease.

This year’s flea market will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Simi Valley Community Church, 2000 Royal Ave.

The merchandise includes hundreds of new and used items that have been donated by residents and business owners, including furniture, sportswear, appliances and books.

The family has filled a rented storage locker with the flea market goods. The remaining items are piled inside the Youngbloods’ house and garage.

The event will feature a performance by a band called Heartache and an appearance by a clown. Sales of food and beverages will also benefit the organizations.

Nancy Youngblood deserves praise for rounding up the merchandise, organizing the event and raising the money, said Kristen DeKam, a spokeswoman for the Leukemia Society’s Greater Los Angeles Chapter.

“She’s one in a million,” DeKam said. “She’s doing the whole thing and giving us a check at the end. We give her the guidance, but she does all the work.”

Youngblood says she and her husband, Steve, wanted to raise money to help find a cure for leukemia after watching Stacy undergo two difficult years of treatment and seeing other children die from the illness.

“I just feel that even my little contribution is worth it,” she said.

Stacy, who is 9, said she doesn’t talk much about her illness, except with close friends. She painfully recalls how older children poked fun at her when chemotherapy caused her hair to fall out.

Although the children apologized when they learned she had leukemia, Stacy said, “I cried because it still hurt.”