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Ski-a-thon raises money for kids living with special needs

Cynthia's Challenge 24-hour ski-a-thon at King Pine Ski Area raises money for kids living with special needs.

EAST MADISON, New Hampshire (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- A 24 hour ski-a-thon is happening at King Pine Ski Area in East Madison, New Hampshire this month to raise money for kids with special needs.

This is the fifth year that Cynthia's Challenge is taking place at King Pine where it got its start to help the girl it's named after. Cynthia Verrill was diagnosed early in life with the seizure disorder Tuberous Sclerosis because of tumors on her brain. Her mother, Stacie Verrill, started the ski-a-thon to advocate for her daughter and others like her.

Cynthia Skiing.

A service dog was purchased for Cynthia with the funds raised during the first year of skiing in 2014.

"The longer that the dog is with you that he, or she will learn the senses of what they need to know to detect the seizure," said Verrill. "He was with us eight hours and he detected her first one."

Cynthia's Challenge has raised around $180,000 for kids living with special needs. Each year a new child is picked as a beneficiary. They have received one service dog and three handicapped accessible vans, so far. This year's goal is to raise another $65,000 to buy a van that will make life easier for Lucie Villeneuve when it comes to driving her son Jacques from place to place

"I'm excited that they're going to vote for me, because I'm this year's recipient," said Jacques.

Jacques Skiing.

The 24-hour ski-a-thon is scheduled to start at 4 PM on March 16th at King Pine and will end at 4 PM March 17th.

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