Fundraising under way for coach with leukemia

RITZVILLE – The Bronco and athletics communities are coming together to help a local county and his family.

As of press time, a donation account for Jason Hilzer had raised more than $7,000 from 60 donations.

The funds come as Hilzer readies for a bone marrow transplant.

In July 2021, Hilzer – a Lind-Ritzville/Sprague assistant football coach, and head wrestling and baseball coach – was diagnosed with leukemia.

Hilzer has been missing from the field and the mat, but is often mentioned by Lind-Ritzville athletes and coaches.

After months of treatment, Hilzer is taking his fight to Seattle for a bone marrow transplant at the end of February. He will stay the month of March in the hospital.

After discharge, he will have to stay within 30 minutes of the hospital for 100 days.

Thirty minutes in Seattle traffic is not very far, so Hilzer will be staying at the Pete Gross House, adjacent to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, one of the top cancer care centers in the country.

The Pete Gross House is named for 17-year Seattle Seahawks radio play-by-play announcer and “voice of the Seahawks”, Pete Gross, who had his own battle with cancer, and passed away in 1992 at age 56.

Accommodations at the Pete Gross House range from $1,600-$3,100 per month.

Typically insurance does not cover that type of housing, and there are expenses related to staying in Seattle beyond that.

A crowdfunding campaign for transplant housing expenses, with a goal of $10,000, is started for Jason Hilzer and his family, on the Go Fund Me website.

To contribute, log onto https://gofund.me/78f12c7c.

A donation account has also been established at Spokane Teacher’s Credit Union, 108 W. First Ave.