Luciani, Benser Children Raise Move Than $4,000 for Cancer Research Selling Mackinac Island Fudge
By Leslie Rott

Joey Luciani, 7, at left, Tyler Benser, 8, John Luciani, 10, and Michael Luciani, 14, at the cottage of Bonnie Doon, where they visit during the summer. The boys created Sweet Helpings, a fundraising effort to support childhood cancer research. They sold Murdick's Fudge for two days and raised more than $4,000.

When kids get together to help kids, they can do amazing things.

When Michael Luciani's four-year-old cousin, Grace Irish, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), he and his brothers, John, 10, and Joey, 7, and their cousin, Tyler Benser, 8, raised more than $4,000 for cancer research by selling Mackinac Island fudge to students in Detroit-area schools.

The boys came up with the plan over winter break and their grandfather, Bob Benser, thought it was a great idea. He owns Murdick's Fudge on Mackinac Island and said he would donate all of the fudge the boys could sell.

The promotion was called Sweet Helpings, a name with double meanings that John Luciani came up with.

"Fudge is sweet, we were helping people, and a helping is a portion of food," he said.

The four youngsters spent two days in late May selling fudge at Derby Middle School and Quarton School in Birmingham, Detroit Merit Academy in Detroit, Mason Elementary in Grosse Pointe, and Baldwin Preschool in Rochester. Patrons could purchase a half-pound box for $4, instead of the regular price of $7.50, and could select from several kid-friendly flavors.

Uncle Bob Benser, Jr. transported more than 1,000 pounds of fudge downstate in a refrigerated truck and, at Derby Middle School, where Michael sold fudge, there were so many orders, he had to set up crates in the cafeteria and have people come and pick up their order when their name was called.

From making order forms to selling the fudge, "Really, the kids did everything," said Leslie Benser Luciani, the mother of three of the boys.

Proceeds from the sale were donated to the Childhood Cancer Research Fund and CureSearch. Next year, the boys may give the money to the University of Michigan, where Grace gets her treatments.

Grace, who will turn five on August 7, requires 2.5 years of Chemotherapy.

"I thinks she's proud of it," Michael said of what they did for their cousin.

"I think, for them, it made a lot of sense," Mrs. Luciani said of her children deciding to sell fudge. "It has special meaning to them."