PALO ALTO, Calif--

Dana Gauthier, Jr.

Cub Scout Den 6, Pack 57, knows how to sell popcorn. Lots of popcorn. They just sold $10,000 worth to families in the Palo Alto area, which means there will be no community popcorn shortage for at least a few weeks or so.
 
Extraordinary scouts doing extraordinary things. But what’s really extraordinary is how the $2,300 commission will be spent. These scouts are donating the money to pediatric brain tumor research, not just to help kids everywhere, but to help one of their own.
 
Eight-year-old Dana Gauthier, Jr. is not just an active scout and 3rd grader at Walter Hays Elementary School in Palo Alto, he’s also courageously undergoing treatments at Packard Children’s for a malignant brain tumor called a medulloblastoma. This means that in the midst of building 1000-piece Legos and playing with aircraft simulators, Dana Jr. has weekly appointments for chemotherapy, blood tests and MRIs. The nine other members of Den 6 consider DJ the bravest kid they know, and he’s had a permanent impact on their lives.
 
“These scouts could have done anything they wanted to with the money, like going to baseball games or buying new tents,” said dad Dana Gauthier, Sr. “Instead, they’re helping my son and all kids who face this unbelievable challenge.” It’s the 2nd straight year Den 6 has generously contributed their popcorn proceeds to the Center for Brain Tumor Research at Packard Children’s, delivering $2,000 in 2006. It turns out Dana Jr.’s out on the street as one of the best popcorn salesman the scouts have, according to his dad, who noted “it’s probably because Dana’s such a charmer!”
 
“Helping others is a fundamental tenet of scouting,” said Rob Schoeben, den leader. “When Dana Jr.'s cancer was detected, our scouts knew immediately they wanted to help in any way they could. Donating their commissions to cancer research was a unanimous decision and an unselfish act by each of the scouts.” Added Michael S.B. Edwards, MD, chief of pediatric neurosurgery, “The scouts’ contribution is very important to our programs and research. We are honored to receive this, especially in the name of Dana Jr., who’s such a special young man.”
 
For the media
Dana Gauthier, Jr., the members of Den 6 and other scouts from Pack 57 will meet Dr. Edwards and Cyberknife Radiosurgery Co-Director Iris Gibbs, MD at Stanford’s Comprehensive Cancer Center this Friday (30) at 6:30pm for a tour, a presentation on brain tumor research and the check donation. The center is located at 875 Blake Wilbur Drive, Palo Alto, CA, 94305.
 
About Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
Ranked as one of the best pediatric hospitals in the nation by U.S.News & World Report and Child magazine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford is a 264-bed hospital devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers. Providing pediatric and obstetric medical and surgical services and associated with the Stanford University School of Medicine, Packard Children's offers patients locally, regionally and nationally the full range of health care programs and services — from preventive and routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury. For more information, visit www.lpch.org.