For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation and Dunkin’ recently teamed up to honor nine-year-old Ava Melasecca from West Chester with a special outdoor celebration.

Melasecca raised a total of $8,000 with her “Cupcakes for Cancer,” a fundraiser where she bakes and sells treats to help raise donations for local nonprofits, including Plymouth Meeting-based For Pete’s Sake.

For Pete’s Sake and the Dunkin’ Community Cruiser visited Melasecca and her family outside of their West Chester home to provide hot chocolate, donuts, and coffee to the family and its friends and neighbors (with social distancing measures and other safety precautions in place).

In 2019, Melasecca lost her father, Jeffery Melasecca, to cancer. Since then, she has made it her mission to give back to the charities that supported her family during her father’s battle with cancer.

For Pete’s Sake holds a special place in Melasecca and her family’s life. In 2015, For Pete’s Sake provided her, Jeffery, her mother Meredith, and her brother Jeffery with a respite experience, where they enjoyed a trip to Disney World and created lasting memories that will comfort them for the years to come.