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Fort Collins sandwich shop fundraises for 11-year-old's celebration of life

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Posted at 4:07 PM, Jul 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-24 19:18:50-04

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A Fort Collins sandwich shop is fundraising to help provide sandwiches for an 11-year-old boy's celebration of life.

Snack Attack Specialty Sandwiches and Brews was undoubtedly one of Ben Dixon's favorite places.

He fell in love with the sandwiches after the owner's took some to a pool one day.

"Ben loved sandwiches," said Amy Dixon, his mom.

Although he loved the sandwiches from Snack Attack, it'd been months since Ben had bitten into one. That's because in 2019, he begun his battle against Ewing sarcoma, a type of cancer.

“He handled it better than we did, I think. He tried to protect us," said Amy, "he was always so positive.”

Just weeks ago, Ben lost the battle against cancer. It's the reason the Fort Collins community is coming together, now.

“I can say that we have been so wrapped in love by our family, friends, neighbors our community. I feel like we’ve been given more love than any one family deserves," said Amy.

She told Denver7 she called Snack Attack to ask for a catering quote. She wanted everyone at her son's celebration of life to enjoy what he loved most, sandwiches.

"It was Italian, that was his favorite. It was turkey and then It was Italian," she said.

When Amy called Lauren Storeby, the co-owner of Snack Attack, for that quote, she didn't expect what Lauren said next.

“We can’t have them pay for this, we need to do something," said Lauren.

She decided to start a community fundraiser to provide the roughly 300 sandwiches for Ben's celebration of life.

The goal is to raise about $1,500. Not only did Lauren set up a GoFundMe to try and bring in donations, but she also posted signs at the sandwich shop encouraging customers to donate.

“It’s more than just food, it’s the whole experience. It’s the community coming together, wrapping them in love and just supporting them and giving them hope and just, a giant hug is what it is," she said.

If you'd like to donate to help provide the sandwiches for Ben's celebration of life, click here.