Park Ridge soccer player Dominique Franco organized a toy drive to benefit children with cancer for Christmas. She is surrounded by all the toys she collected with her mother, photographed at her home in Park Ridge.
MITSUYASUKAWA/ RECORD STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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BY JJ CONRAD
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD
PARK RIDGE – The heartbreaking list of those she’s lost fuels Dominique Franco every day.
She pauses occasionally when somberly naming all the loved ones taken from her – most by cancer. There are so many, it takes her a moment to recount them, even though Franco could never forget a single one of them.
Grandpa John and Grandpa Michael succumbed to cancer around the time the Park Ridge soccer forward was 1. Her beloved great-grandmother, Patricia, died of the disease when she was 4.
Uncle Robert suffered the same fate when Franco was 12. And one of her aunts was diagnosed with breast cancer, but since has beaten it.
Franco also still mourns the loss of her 19-year-old cousin, Nicole, who was the victim of murder in June 2014. Three weeks later – June 25, 2014 – a third grandfather, Vito, also died of cancer.
Franco now fights in their memory.
The strong-willed senior has been around more death than any 17-year-old ever should. But her lost loved ones are why Franco teamed up with the Hackensack University Medical Center pediatric oncology unit this fall to organize a toy drive fundraiser.
Franco raised nearly $1,000 – all of which was spent on a “fun” shopping spree at Toys ‘R Us – through the help of social media, donations from family and friends and by word of mouth since the end of October. And last Friday, she had the opportunity to act as “Santa’s little helper,” she said with a smile.
“It’s taken a big toll on my life,” Franco said. “When my last grandpa died, it kind of changed me most and made me realize how awful this really is. It made me realize that this is what I want to dedicate my life to.”
So she has. Through all the tragedy and all the pain, Franco has matured into an inspiring and generous young woman. The losses have shaped the person Franco is today.
She typically remains loud and upbeat in gatherings with friends and family. The suffering she’s endured usually is hidden behind her smile.
That’s why her top priority is helping sick children.
“I just feel like, personally, after cancer has affected me and my life so much, that there’s this obligation for me to go and give back to others as much as I can,” said Franco, who added that she undoubtedly will study pediatric oncology nursing at whatever college she decides to attend. Her list includes Scranton, Rhode Island, Monmouth, Sacred Heart and Delaware.
A lifelong passion for helping others and putting smiles on people’s faces has led her to her most rewarding effort yet.
Essentially putting the toy drive’s success above all else for a two-month period, Franco left school early to deliver giant bags full of toys to the medical center, all which will serve as presents for sick children this Christmas. She’s proud to consider it her first significant contribution to the oncology world.
Others’ generosity – including the Park Ridge Dairy Queen, where Franco works and hosted three separate fundraising nights with a percentage of the profits donated to the cause – showed her that “there is still goodness in this world despite all the awful things that go on in it.”
She’s still not sure how she managed to coordinate it all. Her time was consumed this fall by school, soccer – she was a team captain on the Owls’ league champion, 17-1-2 squad – work, homework and the stress of an ongoing college search.
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