HAMILTON, Ohio — The Hamilton car community got in the same lane Wednesday evening to help a local teen with a rare form of cancer.
Gavin Ward, 16, an admitted “car guy,” got the rare opportunity to rev some engines as a fundraiser in his honor.
“He’s part of the car community,” Pinball Garage owner Brad Baker said. “And he’s impacting our lives pretty greatly today, so we’re pretty excited about that.”
More than 100 of the best vehicles the region has to offer showed up – Corvettes, McLarens, Lamborghinis and more.
“I didn’t know any of it was happening at all,” Ward said.
He was diagnosed with DIPG in 2019 – a rare form of inoperable brain cancer that gained recognition in the Cincinnati area through the fundraising efforts of Lauren Hill. Doctors gave Ward nine months to live, but since then he’s beaten the odds.
“Don’t give up,” he said. “Because I realize in that moment when you want to give up.”
Before the diagnosis, he was able to fix up a Mitsubishi Eclipse – and his wish is to have it wrapped in decals and polished up with new wheels so he could take it on one last ride. Donations as well as money raised by The Cars and Candy Foundation will go towards making that dream come true.
“It’s something we can do that doesn’t cost us anything, to just come out and support someone,” Baker said. “It’s totally worth it.”
The plan is to start working on Ward’s Mitsubishi in July.
