This past weekend, Rehab Addict’s Nicole Curtis opened the doors of Detroit’s Ransom Gillis house for its first public showing since renovations began almost a year ago. As has been the case with all of Curtis’ showings, this one came with a charity in mind: the $5 entrance fee went to helping cover the medical expenses of a very ill, very small child.
Tessa Prothero is a seven-year-old girl from Detroit. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, and has been fighting it aggressively ever since, with regular trips (and, unfortunately, the occasional extended visit) to the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The family has set up a Facebook page to help raise awareness of Tessa’s condition; you can check it out here.
As you might expect, the cost of battling such a tenacious disease is quite high–which is where Nicole Curtis and the Rehab Addict crew came in.
Curtis decided to make this past weekend’s Ransom Gillis showing a full-on Nicole Curtis #TeamTessa Fundraiser. Judging by the overwhelming interest in the house and the around-the-block lines to get in, it looks like things went well:
The line to get into the Ransom Gillis House in Brush Park. @BrushPark @nicolecurtis pic.twitter.com/x1PQ8VMriv
— Chris Zadorozny (@ZadsISS) November 1, 2015
Thanks for a great day @nicolecurtis ! #Detroit #puremichigan #RansomGillis #history #beautiful pic.twitter.com/o3R8ZjnDYY — Karrie Martin (@gaviagirl) November 1, 2015
Have to say thank you to @nicolecurtis and her crew for a great showing of the Ransom Gillis House. Excellent work! pic.twitter.com/iYmQpU8VKJ
— Chris Zadorozny (@ZadsISS) November 2, 2015
@nicolecurtis beautiful job on #RansomGillis pic.twitter.com/Ua67ZF9o5Q — Karen D (@dyer154) November 1, 2015
The exact amount of money that the Nicole Curtis #TeamTessa Fundraiser brought in is actually TBD–though the fundraiser ended two days ago, Nicole and crew are still counting it up! We do know that the open house brought out around two thousand people, though, so it looks like Tessa’s family can count on somewhere in the neighborhood of ten thousand dollars in much-needed relief!
My crew after a long day 🙂 over two thousand people through -so much $$$ raised for #teamtessa . Thank you 🙂 pic.twitter.com/CNCnm19cap
— Nicole Curtis (@nicolecurtis) November 2, 2015
And, if that weren’t enough, it turns out that there were actually two charities on the receiving end of Nicole Curtis and the Detroit metro area’s generosity this weekend. Attendees were also encouraged to bring dog and cat donations for assorted no-kill shelters around town:
Here’s the #sneakpeek that you should care about -truckload of donations headed to Detroit Dog Rescue !!!! #truth pic.twitter.com/dTGHoDCurr — Nicole Curtis (@nicolecurtis) November 3, 2015
Here are a few more pictures of Tessa, looking courageous and happy:
Congratulations to Tessa and her whole family–and big thanks to Nicole Curtis and everyone who attended the Ransom Gillis opening!
If you’re interested in finding out more about Tessa Prothero, including how you can donate to help cover her medical expenses, visit Team Tessa on Facebook. Currently, Tessa’s mom has asked that followers share pictures of their pets, to help Tessa smile.
(Photo credits: Nicole Curtis #TeamTessa Fundraiser via Facebook)
