Geneva student helps raise thousands to fight Parkinson's

Kayleigh Barnaba enjoys her science classes at St. Peter School in Geneva, mainly because the 12-year-old seventh-grader hopes to someday be a marine biologist.

It wouldn't surprise those who know her, however, if Kayleigh someday announced she was going to study to be a physician seeking a cure for Parkinson's disease.

Because of her past efforts to raise money for the Paul Ruby Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Kayleigh recently experienced firsthand how researchers continue to seek treatments and, eventually, a cure for the neurological disease that attacks the central nervous system.

Kayleigh has raised thousands of dollars in the past three years for the Ruby Foundation by hosting her birthday parties, right around Christmas time, and asking only for donations instead of gifts.

“She has taken that initiative on her own,” said Ruby, the 47-year-old general manager of the Herrington Inn in Geneva, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's four years ago. “She is an amazing young lady, and in addition to her birthday parties, she has also had pool parties and organized a dance at her school to raise money.”

Kayleigh became interested in helping Ruby's cause after she met him after having one of her parties at the Herrington Inn.

“He is such a nice man,” Kayleigh said. “And I want to do anything I can for the foundation.”

With that kind of support, Kayleigh was invited to be part of the process when the foundation board went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to learn about future research and choose projects in which to grant seed money.

“When I was there, it was pretty unbelievable,” Kayleigh said. “It made me have a bigger want for finding a cure.”

Kayleigh said she understood most of what the physicians talked about in their presentations.

“It wasn't that hard to understand, and I had done some research beforehand,” Kayleigh said. “The doctors were definitely trying some newer things that I had never heard of before.”

She said she was “definitely very surprised” when she later learned that a medical advisory committee came to the same conclusions as she and other foundation board members in choosing which projects to fund.

Kayleigh said she intends to keep helping the foundation raise money well into the future.

“The experience has definitely increased my desire to help, as much or more than ever,” Kayleigh said. “I will do everything I can in my power to keep helping.”