Jared McNett
Online editor/Politics reporter/Podcaster
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LE MARS, Iowa — Sydney Brown wears costumes so often to work in September that it’s become something of a shock for Love’s Travel Stop customers and employees when she isn’t sporting custom attire while on the clock.
“The one day I didn’t wear my costume I literally had truckers and my employees be like: What? And so now if I miss a day, I get crap for it,” she joked.
Just this month, Brown, 27, has been Mike Wazowski from “Monster’s Inc.,” Kansas Chief quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Cindy Lou Who from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and Patrick Star from “Spongebob SquarePants.” Last year, when she started the tradition, it was the Grinch himself. She also had a costume made entirely out of duct tape.
On the surface, Brown’s efforts are a part of a fundraising push that Love’s Travel Stop does each September for the Children’s Miracle Network, a charity that raises money for children’s hospitals in the United States and Canada. But it goes deeper than that for her.
“I wanted to bring awareness for the Children’s Miracle Network because I have a cousin who passed away three years ago and he had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. And he’s my huge reason for why I do what I do. Huge reason,” Brown said.
Brown’s cousin, Chance Pick, passed away from the neuromuscular disorder when he was 20. There are more than 30 types of muscular dystrophy, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and all of the different types combined affect about 16 to 25 per 100,000 people in the United States. Duchenne is the most common and affects the heart and lungs as it progresses.
Since his death, Brown has worn a bracelet with his name spelled out in beads and gotten a tattoo that’s in his handwriting. As a kid, Brown would watch the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon and then go door-to-door to raise money.
“(We) were very close and it was very tough seeing what he had to go through every day because Duchenne muscular dystrophy takes over your muscles. He eventually became wheelchair bound,” Brown said. “It definitely takes a toll on you. I was just his cousin but, in a way, he was my little brother. I was his big protector. Growing up, we were his voice and now that he has passed, I use my grief, my love, my everything that I had for him. It’s still there, but now I use it to raise awareness and help families that are still going through that same struggle.”
Through Sept. 12, Brown said she had raised $1,433 which would go to the St. Luke’s Children’s Miracle Network in Sioux City (the store’s raised $4,575). In 2024, she said she brought in $1,545.
A lot of the costumes are ones that Brown bought from stores such as Walmart and Dollar Tree. A few came from her cousin Danielle Magnuson’s mobile shop.
“Just kind of all over, when I got an idea,” she said.
Magnuson said Brown puts her whole heart into the work.
“I’m very proud of her,” Magnuson said.
“I couldn’t imagine working in that all day. And she does such fun activities to get people to donate. She has so many videos of people who donate $20 and can pie her in the face. She also does the ice bucket challenge for donations. She’s always coming up with great ideas to raise money.”
Brown said Chance’s mom has told her she loves the fundraising Brown has been able to do in the costumes.
“She loves that his memory is still throughout,” Brown said.
Further reflecting on her cousin, Brown believes he’d be proud of her raising money to try and help people just like him.
“I think he would be very happy to know that I’m still doing the same thing I’m doing even though he’s not here. He loved that our family was bringing that awareness,” she said.
Jared McNett is an online editor and reporter for the Sioux City Journal. You can reach him at 712-293-4234 and follow him on Twitter @TwoHeadedBoy98.
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Jared McNett
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