My last post highlighted The Tommy Fund, an organization whose mission is to help ease the financial burden a pediatric cancer diagnosis brings with it.
I told you that they helped us. I told you that Goo will be running to help raise money, and pay it forward for other families who will find themselves fighting this same battle.
And you guys, you kind of rock. We’re more than halfway to her goal. We’re getting donations from Kentucky, California, even Canada. I was texting the Nerd all day about how much you guys amaze me. Because some of you haven’t even met us, but that doesn’t matter. You see a need, and you work to meet it. And that makes you totally awesome.
Today I want to highlight another organization that is near and dear to us, Colin’s Crew.
Colin’s Crew is a CT-based organization who provides snack bags for patients at the Smilow Cancer Hospital and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. They raise funds through grassroots efforts to support cancer families. They assemble hand-made valentines for in-patient oncology kids. Just 7 days after her diagnosis, Goo received one of their bags. And during a week haunted by pain, fear, uncertainty, and heartache, those lacy red hearts brought a smile to her face and a chance to forget everything, if only for a moment.
In addition, Colin’s Crew organizes events for cancer families, particularly ones that most patients could not participate in due to treatment requirements. A child receiving chemotherapy will often suffer from neutropenia – a low white blood cell count that leaves them very susceptible to, and unable to fight, infection. For this reason, we can’t go to places like baseball stadiums and movie theaters.
That is, until Colin’s Crew stepped in. They arranged a cancer family day at a baseball stadium, in a private area away from crowds (and germs). An area that just happened to be right where the team was warming up. Where a player walked right over to Goo and handed her a game day ball, which we used to get the player’s signatures after. It gave our family a day out, to enjoy the summer in a way we sometimes forget when we’re busy juggling meds, giving needles, and praying that this time the fever will break on its own. It gave us a chance to watch our little hero run around and play with Colin (the brave little boy who inspired this organization), and to just be a kid, not a kid with cancer.
Later this year, Colin’s Crew organized a movie premier – a special reserved showing of Monsters U – just for pediatric cancer families. They sanitized the theater so germ exposure wouldn’t be an issue. The provided popcorn and soda. They even gave Goo an award for being best dressed.
Can you blame them? She’s fabulous.
Check them out. Follow them on Facebook. Send a donation, pack a snack bag, make a valentine, get involved. They’re worth it.