Are you ready to rock?

Chicago singer-songwriter Katherine Schell said she felt helpless watching her then-9-year-old brother, Greg, cope with leukemia after he was diagnosed more than seven years ago.

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Now the 21-year-old student at Loyola University-Chicago is turning her recent rush of musical success into a vehicle to help others combat cancer.

Schell, who was inspired to write music after seeing her brother's struggle, will perform at 7 p.m. Friday at Wings Stadium as part of Race for Kids Sake's annual fundraiser.

Race for Kids Sake, a local group dedicated to raising funds primarily for the Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan, is hosting its fourth annual Children's Leukemia Foundation Dinner.

Schell, a vocalist and pianist, said she will most likely tell the story behind the songs on her debut album, ``Emptier Streets,'' which was released in March. Her single, ``Come to Me,'' is specifically about her family coping with Greg's diagnosis, she said.

``I love sharing my experience with other people, because they love to hear the story and why I do what I do,'' she said during a phone interview from Chicago. ``The whole experience was the initial motivation for songwriting.''

Schell said her brother, now 16, is in remission, playing hockey and living with the rest of her family in Bay City.

``He's like my best friend,'' she said.

Schell's career received a major boost when VH1 named her the 2005 ``Save the Music Songwriter of the Year.''

``That sort of opened the door,'' Schell said of the VH1 win.

Copyright © 2006. Kalamazoo Gazette.