Family's Lights Display Raises $110K For St. Baldrick's

PARK RIDGE, IL - The "Park Ridge Lights" Christmas display by the Grusecki family has raised more than $110,000 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation. While the goal was to raise only $50,000 for the organization in honor of Benicio Martinez, a local boy with a brain tumor, projected final totals are expected to be in the $112,000 to $114,000 range according to a WGN News report. When Christmas season ended, the amount raised was $110,482, but donations are still rolling in and are expected to continue in the first few weeks of 2018.

The Grusecki family puts on a dazzling, coordinated Christmas lights display at their home on Engel Boulevard every year and uses the attention to raise money for charity.

It's a different charity every year that reaps the benefits, and in 2017 they selected "Benicio Strong" as the theme.

While raising funds for St. Baldrick's, the family also helped the family of Benicio "Benny" Martinez, a 13-year-old Park Ridge boy who led his class by shaving his head bald in a St. Baldrick's Day fundraiser last year only to be diagnosed with a brain tumor days later

"Benicio is a hero," Tina Grusecki told Park Ridge Patch last month. "And this is all about community."

READ MORE: Spectacular Christmas Lights Display Honors Teen Hero

Photo courtesy of Justin Breen / BrEpic Communications