Community Corner

Benefit for Officer's Daughter Battling Cancer

Benefit will take place between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Feb. 12.

In a lot of ways, Aubrey Brooks is like most 4-year old girls. Her favorite color, for example, is pink.

“She’s super outgoing and rambunctious,” her father, Channahon Police Officer Matt Brooks said. “She’s obsessed with princesses and horses.”

Her dad said that her personality is so strong that despite battling cancer and going through chemotherapy, she still wants to wrestle with her dad whenever he gets home from work.

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Aubrey was diagnosed with pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Jan. 16. Three hours later, she was getting her first round of chemotherapy.

Devastating news; Community Support

For Matt and Nichole Brooks, the outpouring of support from the community has been unbelievable.

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“I’m flabbergasted at the support that I have right now,” Mat Brooks said. “People I have never even met before are donating things to her and donating things.”

Community support was so outstanding that Matt Brooks said he had a phone call letting him know that so many people had showed up to donate blood in neighboring Morris in Aubrey’s name that the blood bank wanted to know more about what had happened.

“There were dozens and dozens of people giving blood in Audrey’s name,” Matt Brooks said.

On Sunday, Joliet business Liquid Therapy will open its doors to a fundraiser for the family – one that helped to organize.

“It’s mainly for the medical costs that are going to accrue once my insurance tops out,” Matt Brooks said.

Supporting their own

“ called me and said Mayor Cook had approached him and wanted to have a benefit at ,” Matt Brooks said. “Mayor Cook actually got the ball rolling on everything.”

Liquid Therapy co-owner Tony Daniels said he and his business partner John Macarek were happy to help out.

“We feel as part of the business community, we have to give back to the community,” he said.

Both men are residents of , so this benefit hit close to home.

The business is donating soda for the event and is giving money back as well.

“For every beer we sell, were going to donate a dollar to the Aubrey Brooks fund,” Tony Daniels said.

Food donations have come from local businesses and from Maddie’s Lookout, a business in Seneca owned by Tony Daniel’s brother, Jason Daniels.

Once the Brooks family okayed the fundraiser, Matt Brooks’ second family – the Channahon Police Department – got everything in order. An account was set up at in Aubrey Brooks’ name, local businesses began donating everything from pizza to raffle prizes and a date was chosen for the event, which is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Feb. 12. Admission is $20 per person.

“A lot of the people at work, they started a benefit board and work has been delegating tasks,” Matt Brooks said.

Elizabeth Murphy-Warawa, records clerk at the Channahon Police Department, is handling the donations for the raffle. If you would like to donate an item for the raffle, you can reach Murphy-Warawa at 815-467-2112.


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