STATE COLLEGE East College Avenue downtown has an array of great restaurants and cafes where people can buy a good cup of joe.

But only one spot on Tuesday was a coffee spot where the patrons could receive great coffee and give kids the chance to fight a terminal disease.

Virginia Buck, a 9-year-old from Tyrone, came up with the idea of raising money for juvenile Huntington's disease by selling coffee in front of the State Theatre. Buck, who suffers from the disease, teamed up with Rotary members and the State Theatre for "Coffee for a Cure."

Virginia hoped to fill a water jug with spare change from passers-by or those seeking a free cup of coffee.

"Just look at it," she said, pointing to the half-filled jar, then grinning ear to ear. "One person put a $50 bill in there!"

In fact, there was little in the way of silver coins in the water jug; mostly, it was filled with dollar bills in various amounts -- fives, tens, twenties...

Throughout the morning, business people, shoppers and college students stopped at the colorfully decorated table to talked with Virginia and her friends — and to support her cause.

The event, from 8:30 to 6 p.m. today, raises money for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America Center of Excellence at the University of Iowa, the only university conducting research for the juvenile strand of the disease.