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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‘Every Kid Deserves the Same Amount of Love’: Gracie Soap Box Derby Set for Oct. 18

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Isabella Falsetta, a New Canaan High School sophomore whose twin sister, Grace, was diagnosed with leukemia in middle school, spent much of the summer helping to organize and promote a free community event to raise awareness for pediatric cancer. 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. Working with family members—including Grace, who is now cancer-free, following 85 hospital stays and 20-plus surgeries—and a good friend, NCHS classmate Tate Salerno among others, Isabella helped promote the “Gracie Soap Box Derby.”

To be held at New Canaan Country School at 1 p.m. (get there 12:30 p.m.) on Sunday, Oct. 18, the Derby will feature a DJ, Blind Rhino food truck and kids’ zone with activities such as face painting and obstacle course, in addition to 15 races featuring 18 custom-built, authentic (non-motorized) soap box derby cars. “What made me want to become part of this effort is just I saw how hard my dad worked, how hard all my sister’s doctors and nurses worked to help her with this treatment, and I realized that every kid deserves the same amount of love and support that she did,” Isabella said on a recent afternoon during an interview at New Canaan Library.

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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?

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House of Telos Sponsoring ‘Combine’ To Benefit The Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer [Q&A]

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House of Telos, founder of the New Canaan Combine, is a major sponsor of the 2023 event benefiting the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer. Created by New Canaan’s Falsetta family—here’s an interview with dad Chris about the effort— the Gracie Fund is named for the Falsettas’ 12-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with leukemia last year and is undergoing treatments. House of Telos owner Rebecca Kimball, a 2004 New Canaan High School graduate (podcast here) founded the Combine, a fun athletic competition between the New Canaan Police and Fire Departments that also brings in community members to fundraise for a good cause. We put some questions to Kimball about the Combine and Gracie Fund. Our exchange follows.