Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
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Lexi Curren is just like most 11 year olds in Saskatchewan.
She loves spending time with her friends, playing hockey and visiting her grandparents’ farm any chance she gets.
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But unlike other kids her age, she spends her free time raising money to help find a cure for breast cancer.
For Curren, it’s not just about the money she raises — it’s about the joy she feels while doing it.
“It just makes me happy when I do it,” she said with a grin. “It just makes my heart happy.”
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At just 11 years old, Lexi Curren is proving that age is no obstacle when it comes to making a difference. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)
Over the past three years, the Grade 5 student has turned her after-school crafts into a mission of hope. She’s raised nearly $7,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society, one handmade item at a time.
It started with a run. In 2022, Curren joined her family for their first CIBC Run for the Cure, supporting a close family friend who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“My grandma got diagnosed about a year and a half after,” Curren recalled, “and that just made it a lot more important to me.”
Lexi Curren participated in her first CIBC Run for the Cure in 2022. (Submitted)
She was only eight years old when she decided she needed to help. Her first fundraiser came from a simple afternoon project — making Perler bead crafts at home.
When her mom suggested trying a pink ribbon design, Curren didn’t hesitate.
“We started messing around with it,” she recalled, “and we kind of just started making those.”
Lexi Curren raised $3,300 for breast cancer research in 2023 by selling Perler bead awareness ribbons. With so much interest in her fundraiser, she had to put a cap on orders. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)
Soon, they were flooded with orders.
They had to put a cap on how many they could make, but Curren still raised $3,300 that year — all from tiny pink ribbons she made with her own hands.
In 2024, she decided to try something new: key chains made from silicone beads.
Lexi Curren made key chains in 2024 to continue her fundraising efforts for breast cancer research, raising $3,500. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)
“I think we made, like, three packs of 60 or something like that,” she said, thinking back on the hours spent stringing, tying, and organizing each piece.
Every last key chain sold.
This year, Curren said she has something even bigger planned.
The 11-year-old is collaborating with Farm Girl Pottery, a local business owned by a family friend, to create handmade cups.
This year, Lexi Curren has partnered with Farm Girl Pottery for her annual fundraiser. Her custom-designed cups are available for pre-order now, and $25 from each of Lexi’s Summer Sippers will be donated to breast cancer causes. (Submitted)
“It’s not a coffee cup, but it’s the shape of a coffee cup,” Curren said, explaining her design. “It has ridges in it so you can hold onto it, and it’s dipped about three quarters of the way in pink. The rest is white at the bottom. And then it has a little spot for a straw to go in.”
She helped design the shape, picked the colours and even helps glaze the cups — often alongside her mom or grandma.
Lexi Curren’s mom, Jill, said her family is very proud of Lexi’s determination to raise money for breast cancer research. (Submitted)
Asked why she puts so much effort into these fundraisers, Curren’s answer was simple, but powerful.
“So we can try and get a cure,” she said.
Curren said she isn’t sure how long she’ll keep planning annual fundraisers.
“Probably until I don’t want to anymore,” she said, smiling. “But so far, I’m still going.”
Behind every pink ribbon, every beaded key chain and every handmade cup is a little girl with a big heart, driven by a powerful desire to make a difference.
Lexi Curren may only be in Grade 5, but she’s already making a big impact. In just three years, she’s raised almost $7,000 for breast cancer research by crafting and selling handmade items. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)
