CHERRY HILL There will be many performances of The Nutcracker this season, but few will be as charming or for such a worthwhile cause as the one Sunday at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church.
The Philadelphia-based troupe performed highlights from the Tchaikovsky ballet during a lavish Victorian Tea Party fundraiser, with the bulk of the days funds slated for research into a little-known disease that afflicts a parishioner's son.
The disease, Friedreich's ataxia, is an inherited disorder that gradually destroys the nerve tissue of the spinal cord, leaving the victim unable to move without a wheelchair and vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes and scoliosis.
Medford resident Leonidas Lazaropoulos, the 25-year-old son of parishioner Krissa Lazaropoulos, did not let the disease keep him from graduating from Drexel University with a bachelors degree in biology in 2012, nor will it keep him from working toward his doctorate and his goal of a career in zoology.
But the disease, which leaves the mind intact as it attacks the body, has given him deeply slurred speech and hampered his movements. Which is why the sponsor of the fundraiser Nike chapter 230 of the Daughters of Penelope chose the Friedrichs Ataxia Research Alliance, or FARA, as its designated charity this year.
Ann Davidson, chapter president, said that while the monies raised Sunday through raffles and ticket sales will benefit several charities, the bulk are reserved for FARA.
This is our fifth annual tea event, and every year we have a different charity that we sponsor, Davidson said. The main charity this year is FARA. We chose this charity because we have a parishioner who is dear to our heart, and wed like to honor her and her family by choosing this charity this year.
Before the dancers appeared, the main event in the meeting room was the elaborate Victorian dresses worn by the women in attendance. The hats were particularly showy.
Krissa Lazaropoulos said her son began showing signs of Friedrichs ataxia at age 5, though at the time they were written off as simple clumsiness. He walked, he ran, she said. We thought he was going to be a football player.
Unfortunately, the boys problems with balance and coordination worsened, and by age 10 he was diagnosed with Friedrichs ataxia.
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Church goes Victorian to help fight a rare disease