Grosse Pointe Park Girls Collect Quarters for Colitis

A group of recent graduates mixed charity–along with some flour, eggs, chocolate and sugar–into an effort to help a sick friend Saturday at the corner of Kercheval and Nottingham.

The Quarters for Colitis bake sale on Kercheval at the raised money toward research into the condition that causes the large intestine to be inflamed as well as for Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease. Colitis has different causes, diagnoses and outcomes–some temporary, some permanent.

Sydney Dugan, Lauren Sancya, Ally Portwood and Julie Rapai, all 11 years old and the charitable friends and bake sale operators, learned during fifth grade this past school year how colitis can change a life.

Their friend was diagnosed with the condition and spent many hours with doctors, taking medication and missing school.

"I don't know if this would be able to cure kids with colitis, but I hope it will help them do things like regular kids," Sancya said Saturday from the tent covering three tables of cupcakes, cookies, crafts, drinks and other treats.

Their friend, Sancya said, "had to miss school and she really missed her friends."

Portwood, Sancya and Dugan made their transactions Saturday on a bright red, plastic cash register. Other than a few fumbles with cookies, they worked well together to move the goods and do some good.

Ally's mom, Cindi Portwood, said the friend whose illness led to the charitable projects was happy about the colitis fund-raiser. The money will be donated to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.

"She said, 'I think it's great they want to do this. It's a disease that a lot of people have, but there's not really enough money for it.' "

The girls and their families spent days baking cupcakes with umbrellas and beach scenes, blueberry muffins, peanut butter cookies with Reese's and other sweets.

The friend "is currently doing great, but this inspired the girls to bake feverishly all week," Portwood said. "The hot weather in an unairconditioned kitchen did not deter them one bit...This is a highly motivated bunch."

Last week, a lemonade stand they ran raised almost $55 and Saturday's proceeds will be combined with that and with money the girls and other friends raised doing chores around home.

"We thought this would be something nice to do for her," Ally said of her friend.