News

‘Cancer Definitely Messed with the Wrong Girls’: Gracie Soap Box Derby Draws Hundreds

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An estimated 300-plus people gathered at New Canaan Country School on Sunday afternoon for an old-fashioned soap box derby in support of children and families facing pediatric cancer. Launched by New Canaan’s Falsetta family when Grace Falsetta was diagnosed with leukemia in middle school (she is cancer-free today), the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer is a nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of children facing life-threatening cancer by supporting the people, programs, and organizations that care for them. On a picture-perfect fall afternoon, the first-ever Gracie Soap Box Derby saw kids race 20-plus cars along a haybale-lined track, cheered on by dozens of families who enjoyed music, bouncy play structure, face-painting, food trucks and community connection. 

“I could not be more excited,” dad Chris Falsetta said moments before the races got underway. “We have such a crowd. We have 20 cars, we have tons of kids.

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A Race for All Kids Fighting Cancer: The Gracie Fund’s ‘Soap Box Derby’

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A New Canaan family will host an event in town this fall to support children and families facing pediatric cancer. Grace Falsetta, a New Canaan High School freshman, was diagnosed with leukemia in middle school. Soon after, she and her family launched the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of children facing life-threatening cancer by supporting the people, programs, and organizations that care for them. After hosting a well-attended fundraiser in 2023, the NC Combine, Grace Falsetta — together with her twin sister, Isabella Falsetta, and their friend, Tate Salerno — came up with the “Soap Box Derby.” 

“The NC Combine was great,” Grace Falsetta told NewCanaanite.com. “After that, so many kids wanted to get involved and we decided that we needed an event focused around kids.

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New Canaan  Community Shows Up for ‘2023 NC Combine’ Benefiting Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer [PHOTOS]

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New Canaan’s Chris Falsetta told a stadium full of community friends and supporters Sunday morning that his then 12-year-old daughter, Gracie, was diagnosed with leukemia almost exactly one year ago, on Oct. 13, 2022. 

Since that time, many people have approached Falsetta and asked how the past year has been, he said. “And I say, ‘It’s been incredible,’ and I usually get puzzled looks,” Falsetta said from midfield at Dunning Stadium under sunny, warm skies minutes before the 2023 N.C. Combine began. “ ‘What do you mean incredible?’ Well, it’s been incredibly tough, right? You know that.

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How Sunday’s ‘New Canaan Combine’ Will Work [Q&A]

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It’s almost here. The New Canaan Combine is to be held at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Dunning Field (come down at 9 a.m. for coffee and donuts with New Canaan first responders, courtesy of Dunkin’). Organized by New Canaan’s House of Telos, the Combine will be emceed by New Canaan’s Chris Russo. It’s a friendly athletic competition between the New Canaan Police and Fire Departments that brings in EMTs and members of the community. This year, the Combine benefits the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer through sponsorships, merchandise sales, donations and a silent auction that went live here on Sunday.

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Q&A: Talking ‘Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer’ with Yale’s Dr. Stephanie Massaro

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The returning New Canaan Combine—an athletic competition between the New Canaan Police and Fire Departments that also brings in community members to fundraise for a good cause—this year will benefit the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer. That nonprofit organization, named for a local family’s 12-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with leukemia last year and is undergoing treatments, was created following talks with one of her caregivers, Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale School of Medicine’s Dr. Stephanie Massaro. We spoke to Massaro on Sunday. Here’s a transcript of our conversation. ***

New Canaanite: Thank you for carving out some time to talk to me about the Gracie Fund. 

Dr. Stephanie Massaro: My pleasure. 

Before we start talking about your connection here to New Canaan with the Falsettas, could you please, for our readers, just tell us what it is you do and how you came to know the Falsetta family?