A Community United: Hundreds in Shelley Gather for “Pi with a Purpose, Slices of Hope”

SHELLEY, Idaho (KIFI) – Families across the country deal with their childrens' health complications every day. However, not all of them are lucky enough to have an entire town of support during their difficult times. Tonight, the community of Shelley rallied around Austin Currall and his family, uniting in love and support for the 4-year-old going through his second round of cancer.

Jenel Andersen is the mastermind behind the community fundraiser. "I just called six or eight of my friends and told them this is what I want to do for this family, will you guys help? And they said yes," said Andersen. "We had a meeting and made some plans and went with it!"

Tanys Searle was another behind-the-scenes volunteer for tonight's fundraiser. "We split off into teams and put everyone in charge of something," said Searle. "So many people donated food and were so generous and we're so grateful for that."

The best part is that many people in attendance as well as helping with the event, didn't even know the Curralls. "I know maybe a quarter of the people here," said Michael Currall, Austin's dad. "Everybody's coming up and introducing themselves like they already know us, which in a way, they kind of do at this point. It's just super cool, I've had a couple of times tonight where I've forgetten that we're all here for Austin."

The event included ticket and t-shirt sales, dinner and pie, games like a pie walk for the kids as well as a silent auction. Community members and local businesses donated to the silent auction, with all the proceeds going to the Currall family and their medical expenses.

It's rare that a community unites in support of one cause, but locals tell us this is who Shelley is. "This is Shelley," said Andersen. "And it's Firth as well. This is what we do, this is what our community does."

The Currall family could not be more grateful for the turnout and the positive experience their family had at tonight's fundraiser.

"We just want to give a giant thank you to everybody, there's no way we can say it enough at this point," said Michael.

For more on Austin's story and where you can donate, visit https://localnews8.com/news/2026/03/13/slices-of-hope-shelley-community-to-rally-for-4-year-old-battling-cancer/