Fundraisers are underway to help two Island families that were injured in a serious car accident in Virginia on April 27.

Karen Berube was born 63 years ago in Oak Bluffs. She lived with her family in Edgartown and moved to Vineyard Haven after second grade. It was a time when town pride reigned and you only traveled off-Island to pick out school clothes for next fall. Today, Karen lives in Edgartown with her husband of over 30 years, David. They both agree they were aware of each other in high school but didn’t connect until 1976. Their first date was a clamming trip and they married in 1982. These days Karen travels from Edgartown to Boston once a week for chemotherapy.

Twelve-year-old Liam F. McCarthy of Vineyard Haven was honored last Saturday at a fundraising dinner at the Holy Ghost Society in Oak Bluffs. Through the efforts of many, the dinner raised $5,000.

Liam and his family were seeking financial help to cover the cost of a walking aid, a device that will make movement easier, plus a three-wheeled bicycle. Neither purchases are covered by insurance, his mother Kelly McGuiggin said. For her, the evening dinner offered hope.

Lisa (Ben David) Scannell didn’t get five feet past the door of the Portuguese-American Club before the crowd came to her.

Heather Jardin has been diagnosed with cancer again, and her friends refuse to take a backseat in the effort to get her on the mend. Next Friday, May 14, the Portuguese American Club in Oak Bluffs will host a huge evening event of music and food.

They are calling it Help Heather Beat Cancer, and admission is $20. The band Mercy Beat run by Rick Padilla will play music. Special guests John O’Toole, Loira Burra and others will perform. All food will donated. There will be a silent auction. The event runs from 6 p.m. to midnight.