Scholarship will honor NIU victim

A fundraiser Saturday at in Carpentersville will benefit a scholarship fund set up in the name of a local victim of the Valentine's Day shooting at Northern Illinois University.

Ryanne Mace, 19, from Carpentersville was one of five students killed in the Feb. 14 shooting at Northern Illinois University.

The Mace family established the fund in April to assist graduate students in clinical psychology, said Eric Mace, Ryanne's father.

Van's Frozen Custard will donate proceeds from all sales from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., at the store at 300 N. Main St., to the Ryanne Mace Memorial Scholarship Fund through the Northern Illinois University Foundation.

In a statement, the family said it is their hope that "Ryanne's desire to make the world a better place by helping others have good mental health can, in some way, be achieved through their efforts."

So far, about $3,500 has been donated to the memorial fund, while another $10,000 was donated to a fund set up in Ryanne Mace's name at the First American Bank in Carpentersville, Eric Mace said.

"The goal is to bring the fund up to about $25,000 so that it can become an endowment," Eric Mace said.

Chad Van Acker, the frozen custard store owner and manager, said Ryanne Mace's parents have been regular customers since the store opened in September 2007.

Ryanne Mace, who loved the vanilla frozen desserts, visited the store several times during the Christmas break.

"Mom always gets chocolate but Dad is more adventurous," Van Acker said. "We have gotten to know the family and we really wanted to do this for them."