Emily stirs some pancake batter.

 Crohn's and Colitis affects 1 in 150 Canadians all across the country.

 A type of inflammatory bowel disease, it is  becoming increasingly common for young children. The digestive system  becomes swollen and ulcers result, and currently there is no cure.

 For Donalda Penley of Torquay, it affects her personally, as her granddaughter, Emily, was diagnosed with the condition at  the age of 3.

 It became her mission to search for a solution, and she is doing that through fundraising. She organized a team that will  take part in the 'Gutsy Walk' in Swift  Current on June 4th, and part of preparing for that was a fundraising breakfast held on  Saturday, called 'Grandma's Flippin' Pancakes'.

 "A team was put together of 10 people, and everybody committed to raise one thousand dollars. Grandma committed  $5,000 because she is crazy," said  Penley.

 I've been doing other fundraising items, and I came and asked the church if they would let me use the facilities here to put on a breakfast fundraiser, and they  were very supportive."

She expressed that the support received from the community and local businesses was, at times, overwhelming.

"As of right now, we are seventh among teams in Canada for raising funds. We have topped over $15,000. We've upped our goal to $17,000 now and I'm pretty sure that by June 4th we will make that amount and beyond."

 Penley shared some of the statistics associated with the disease.

"Since 1996, the number of children under age 10 that have been diagnosed with Crohn's or Colitis have doubled, and it's just horrific."

She added that it is very rare for a child that age to be diagnosed with the disease, and noted that 50 percent of the rising number of cases has been first generational.

"That's alarming. Canada has the dubious honor of being number one in the world for Crohn's and Colitis. We want to see a cure for everybody."

"There are cancers associated with this disease as well, so if we can get a cure for Crohn's and Colitis, we give cancer a good, swift kick too," she concluded.

The total sum from all the fundraising activities at the breakfast was $2824.25, and 83 people attended the event, according to Penley.