Melinda Maher of Sherman visits her father, Fred Maher, at the Kent Health Care Facility where he has lived for the past three years because of his Huntington�s disease.

SHERMAN -- First came the care baskets, small packages of personal toiletries such as toothpaste and shampoo put together with loving care for people with Huntington's disease.

Then last year, their creator, 19-year-old Melinda Maher, organized a dinner that raised $11,000.

Next month, Maher, born and raised in Sherman, is planning another.

"Just like last year, all the cooking will be done by friends of the family and all the wait staff will come from my youth group at the Congregational Church," Maher said Monday.  "Last year, more than 160 people came. It was amazing."

Because the Huntington's Disease Society of America matched the proceeds two for one through an anonymous benefactor, the dinner generated more than $32,000 after expenses.

Maher's dedication to raising public awareness of Huntington's disease is rooted in her own experience with the incurable ailment.

Maher's father, Frederick, 52, was diagnosed with the disease when Maher was 5, and he has lived in a Kent nursing home for the past 3 years. "It was tough for everyone," Maher said. "It's a very difficult disease but somehow we got through it."

Frederick Maher's father, also named Frederick, endured Huntington's disease for 20 years before dying from its effects in 1991.

According to the Huntington's Disease Society of America, HD is a devastating, hereditary brain disorder without an effective treatment or cure. It was named for Dr. George Huntington, an American physician who wrote about the disease in 1872. It is now recognized as a common genetic disorder.

HD destroys brain cells, diminishing a patient's ability to think and reason, walk and talk.

Society statistics show that one of every 10,000 Americans has HD, and the average remaining lifespan of someone diagnosed with the disease is 10 to 20 years.

As an eighth-grader in 2001, Melinda Maher resolved to become more involved in generating a wider public understanding of the disease. "It got to the point when everyone else seemed to be helping people with other diseases but no one was doing much about HD," Maher said. "That's when I decided to do something."

That "something" was soon translated into producing care packages for HD patients.

With the help of donations from businesspeople and friends, Maher put together dozens of care baskets for the Terence Cardinal Cooke Nursing Home in New York City and another nursing home in the city where her father received medical care.

The idea was to provide patients with a container to keep their essential toiletries.

"It's been a big eye-opener to see how much support we've received," Maher said. "It's made us feel very good inside."

Melinda Maher, who chose HD for her senior project at Shepaug Valley High School in 2006, is studying early childhood education and psychology at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic.

"I figured last year would be my last opportunity to raise awareness and funds for HD because I was going on to college, but I guess I've proven myself wrong," Maher said.

Frederick and Charlotte Maher also have a son, Eric, 24.

Charlotte is proud of her daughter's work for HD. "Instead of sitting back and saying woe is me, she's being proactive and doing something about it," she said.

Last year, at the society's annual convention in Milwaukee, Melinda Maher was named Youth of 2006.

Barbara Boyle, the society's chief executive officer, praised Maher's efforts. "Her work not only helps empower the scientific community to help find a cure for HD but helps the community to maintain the level of health care for the patients," Boyle said. "It's wonderful."

Boyle, who said the society's benefactor matches every dollar raised for the society, said 90 families across the nation raise money through special events. Last year, the families raised $1.2 million.

If you go Benefit dinner for Huntington's research.

Where Bantam Fire Department, 92 Doyle Road, Bantam, CT.

When June 2 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Tickets $30 in advance.

Call (860) 355-3382.