The Van Laeken family: Mike, Brynn and Cheryl.

By Nicholette Carlson
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — After having to cancel the annual haystack dinner last year due to the pandemic, Cheryl Van Laeken and her family are ensuring the Riley fundraiser in honor of their daughter Makenna happens this year.

This will be the 12th year for the haystack dinner and silent auction fundraiser. It will take place from 4:30-7 p.m. Saturday, March 27, at New Salem Church of the Brethren, 2027 E. 900N, Milford. Instead of a sit-down dinner, it will be a drive-thru format with all food pre-packaged and ready to go.

Also, instead of having a live silent auction this year, the auction is online and currently active. Those bidding on auction items receive text alerts. The bidding will end at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 28. The dinner is goodwill donation only with all the proceeds going to the Makenna Van Laeken Endowment Fund for Liver Research through Riley’s Children Foundation.

This fund was set up to continue to honor the memory of their daughter, even though she is no longer with them. Apart from blood thinner shots each day due to a blood clotting disorder, Van Laeken’s pregnancy with Makenna was completely normal with nothing to indicate anything would be wrong. After Makenna was born, a nurse did her labs and discovered her heel bleeding more than it should. It was believed Makenna had an infection and was sent to the newborn intensive care unit.

However, it was quickly discovered Makenna was suffering from acute liver failure, though they did not know why. Van Laeken’s doctor suggested the doctors at Riley Children’s Hospital. After going to Riley, Makenna was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called neonatal hemochromatosis. She passed away after six weeks but Van Laeken and her husband, Mike, were thankful for the time they got with Makenna.

Makenna Van Laeken

Once they got home, they knew they wanted to do something in memory of their daughter and realized there was no fund set up at Riley’s for what Makenna had. They decided to change that and called Riley Children’s Foundation to set up a fund.

Van Laeken figured they would likely only raise a few hundred dollars that year, but ended up raising more than $1,000. Soon their goal changed to make their daughter’s fund an endowment fund, which required $100,000. They met this goal within five years. Interest from their daughter’s fund is used toward liver disease research.

This haystack dinner and auction has now raised more than $200,000. Their next goal to reach is $300,000. While they have received a few larger donations, all the money raised has been from the community. The community continues to spur them onward and encourages the family to strive toward higher goals each year.

With help from Riley, Van Laeken was able to get connected with a doctor and receive intravenous immunoglobulin treatments, allowing the couple to have a healthy daughter, Brynn, in 2013.

Each year the family’s story is shared on Riley Radio Days.