By Stephanie Grinnell
Staff Writer
In honor of Mother’s Day, one daughter is putting her money were her mouth is. Pauline Aligheri, 61, of Hingham, Mass., donated more than $18,000 May 6 to the Maine Children’s Cancer Program Clinic in Scarborough to match her mother’s ongoing donations, bringing the family total of program donations to nearly $37,000.
Aligheri’s mother, Helene Ouellette, 86, of Auburn, collects donations each year for the Children’s Cancer Program during her annual “Pumpkin Parade” event in Auburn.  During the Pumpkin Parade, hundreds of carved pumpkins are displayed and Ouellette collects donations. Ouellette said after her first donation to the Children’s Cancer Program, she was approached by a neighborhood boy named Kevin, who thanked her and informed her he was a cancer survivor. She said seeing his success and survival has inspired her to continue to donate to the program.
“I knew I did good from his suffering. He’s the one who really inspired me,” she said.
Ouellette said she donated 120 pumpkins to the Children’s Cancer Program last year.
“I was told they loved them,” she said with a smile.
Aligheri said she has learned how important donations to the program can be. The funds provide families with psychosocial counseling to help them deal with the impacts of cancer and provide money for research, Medical Director Dr. Eric Larson said. He said the program staffs four social workers who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to the families, who he said are often in an “unthinkable nightmare.”
“The support also allows us to do ongoing research for better and more effective treatments for childhood cancer,” Larson said.
Prior to the check presentation, a small group heard from Rebecca Stevenson of Yarmouth, a childhood cancer survivor. She said she remembers certain things about the experience, like the constant poking and prodding of needles, her doctor’s “bad jokes, goofy smiles and silly ties,” and a woman she dubbed “the rose lady,” who worked in the garden and always presented Stevenson with “a perfect red rose” every time she passed the rose gardens in her wheelchair. Stevenson said she also had a special friend during her treatments, Sally, an older mentor who spoke with her about the distant future.
“Like high school and turning 10 — that’s double digits,” she said, drawing chuckles from the group.
At the time, Stevenson was 7 years old and Sally was 15 years old.
“The night after she died, I spent the whole night crying in my mother’s arms,” she said. “She was buried in the earrings I gave her. Having lost her made me feel really lucky. You all make a difference and that’s why I’m here [alive], to make a difference.”
Aligheri is not the only family member to help Ouellette. Her brother Dan, helps his mother with the Pumpkin Parade each year. He said he is a “behind the scenes” kind of person. Ouellette said he has spent hours standing in the rain collecting donations during the parade.
“Nobody knows the impact of negative events,” he said. “Directly or indirectly, people can make a difference in other people’s lives. Do something to make a difference in somebody’s life.”
Aligheri founded Friends of Mel, a non-profit organization created in memory of her friend Mel Simmons, who died of breast cancer in 2005. The organization sells bracelets and accepts donations for cancer research. The donation to the Children’s Cancer Program was raised by the organization.
For more information about Friends of Mel, visit www.friendsofmel.org. 
Contact Stephanie Grinnell by calling 282-4337 ext. 213 or email news@inthecourier.com.