Update on Katie
We had an incredible outpouring of support from our Heroes of RVA blog. Many of you were moved by the beautiful photos of our brave heroes. Our photographer, Kristin Seward, not only captured their courage and strength, but she eloquently told their stories. By the end of the series, you walked with them on their journeys. One of the heroes was Katie, who's battling T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Erin, our program coordinator, shared an update on this beautiful girl:
Katie had her last bone marrow biopsy in October. Thankfully, it showed no evidence of disease. She has 100% donor cells! She's feeling strong enough to be back in school in the 3rd grade. She now goes to clinic every two weeks to draw labs and meet with the doctor. She has regular visits with an eye doctor as a result of the side effects of her treatment. Everyone is looking toward February. Katie will have a full round of scans and another biopsy. If the test results are good, Katie can finally have her port removed. This is an important milestone in a brave child's treatment. What impresses me the most about Katie and her family is the fact that they live life to its fullest. Their facebook page, Courage For Katie, is full of photos of the family enjoying time together, traveling, and even sharing the more difficult moments of Katie's cancer. I can say that they are an inspiration to our hero families.
Connor's Heroes will continue to offer financial and emotional assistance to Katie and her family. Thanks to the generous donations of your time and financial gifts, Katie is not alone. Keep Katie and all our hero families in your thoughts.
Fall Clean Up for Families
I have a great group of close friends who enjoy helping others, especially around the holidays. When we found out Moriah's family needed some help with their yard work, we were more than happy to lend a hand. Such an unfortunate circumstance for an incredible family. We were happy to take this minor chore off their plates. - CHF volunteer, Aaron
Our hero families woke up to find a crew of volunteers raking leaves and doing yard work for them. It was our annual Fall Clean Up. Thanks to support from you, we organize this day of community service every year near Thanksgiving. We realize our families are spending so much time at the hospital that yard work isn't a priority. Sometimes, they are too uncomfortable (or tired) to ask for help. Like a true superhero, our volunteers sprang into action. This year, 42 volunteers cleaned the yards of six families. Our volunteer crew was made up of young professionals, a board member’s children, a mother and daughter team, the University of Richmond girls soccer team and members of the Midlothian Kiawanis.
If helping people is important to you like it is to Aaron, tell us about yourself by filling out our volunteer application.
Trike A Thon for Connor’s Heroes
Thanks to these little tikes for riding trikes in support of Connor's Heroes (say that three times fast!). Students learned bicycle safety from Henrico County police officers and rode a "busy town" course to test out their skills. All this was done to raise $837 in honor of their hero buddy, Callen Tyson. Thank you to Bree King from Liberty Mutual and the Kids in Discovery Preschool for all of their support!
Sunday Funday Part 3
Our Heroes took over The Center of the Universe Brewery for our October Sunday Funday. With the help of our volunteers, they decorated pumpkins to take home. For many of our families, finding time to decorate for the holidays is hard when our parents are juggling appointments, clinic visits and shuttling the family back and forth for the usual activities. Having a pumpkin or other decorations gives the children a sense of "normalcy" that is so important when the family is focused on childhood cancer. It is through your donations to Connor's Heroes that we have the financial resources to offer these fun-filled afternoons. Thank you to Natalie, Lauren, Sarah, Maggie, Makay, Nora, Melissa, Celia, David and Afton for having so much fun with our heroes. Don't you love the pumpkins decorated by Florian and Valentin, Savanna, Olivia and Callen, Lauren and her sister Ava and brother Jackson, Olivia and her brother Michael Jr., Jack and Ellie, and Bryant and Chase?
October Sunday Funday Part 2
Artist Camilo Perdomo was back in Richmond to collaborate with our young Heroes on another series of paintings for our 2017 Heroes Art Ball. He was part of our October Sunday Funday - a special monthly gathering of our parents, brothers, sisters, volunteers, staff and, of course, our Heroes. Thank you to our young professionals for organzing the art session at the Center of the Universe Brewery in Ashland. Thank you for your generous donations that allow us to host family activities like our Sunday Funday. We enjoyed a beautiful fall day outside of the hospital and clinic.
October Sunday Funday Part 1
It's Halloween. Time for trick and time for treat! Our Young Professional volunteer group hosted a Sunday Funday for our Hero families at the Center of the Universe Brewery in Ashland. Florian and Valentin, Savanna, Olivia and Callen, Lauren and her sister Ava and brother Jackson, Olivia and her brother Michael Jr., Jack and Ellie, and Bryant and Chase had a wonderful time together. They painted pumpkins and even worked on art for the 2017 Heroes Art Ball. The parents relaxed. Many were meeting each other for the first time. They shared incredible stories of the ups and downs of childhood cancer. It is through your donations to Connor's Heroes that we have the financial resources to offer these fun-filled afternoons.
Video Raises $1000 for our Heroes
Recognize that nurse? She's Afton, a L&D nurse who also is an amazing volunteer with Connor's Heroes. Afton submitted a video for the McKesson promotion, #idelivercarefor. Her video was picked and is now featured on their website. They will donate $1,000 in her name to one of the four partnering charities - and she chose Connor's Heroes! Thank you, Afton. If you are a healthcare professional or work in healthcare, grab your phone and shoot a 1-3 minute video like Afton did. If your video is picked, you, too, can make a thousand dollar donation. You can see Afton's video and learn how you can submit a quick clip that could raise $1,000 for Connor's Heroes.
From McKesson website:Share your #idelivercarefor story today!
Using the theme "I deliver care for..." record a 1-3 minute video or write a post telling us the story of how you and your organization deliver care and submit it on this website. Share your story here. The story should be focused on you and your facility's care. There is no need for you to make any reference to McKesson in your story or video. We're here to celebrate your great work. Also, please remember to leave out any confidential patient information.
October Sunday Funday
Our Sunday Fundays are a great way to offer your time to help our Hero Families. You spend a few hours helping the children make art and special gifts for the upcoming Heroes Art Ball. Help every session or when you are available. I can guarantee you that you will enjoy yourself as much as the children. For more information and other volunteer opportunities, visit www.connorsheroes.org/get-involved
Thank you to Celia and our Young Professionals who make our Sunday Funday sessions possible.
Heroes Run Raises $13,000
$13,000! That is the tally from the third annual Heroes Run, motorcycle ride and rally. What made it even more special is that the crew plans it for September's Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. That amount of money is going to do wonders in supporting our hero families. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the family is suddenly thrust into a financial tailspin. Connor's Heroes helps with the little expenses that add up - parking passes for the hospital parking deck, groceries, gas to drive to/from appointments, meals because there is no time to figure out what's for dinner. The money raised by Joe, Justin, Rudy, and their friends will provide much-needed financial support for our Hero Families!
Heroes of RVA!
Thank you to everyone who was so inspired by our profiles of our Heroes of RVA photo series that you gave to fund research through the Connor's Heroes Pediatric Cancer Research Fund and the Jamie Hess Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Fund. Obviously, you care about research as much as Dr. Corey and his team. Thank you for allowing him to conduct his research at VCU Massey Cancer Center knowing you've got his back. Together we will stand strong for our Heroes of RVA! If you missed out, and want to give, you can donate online. Specify you want your gift to fund childhood cancer research that is conducted here in Richmond, and will benefit children all over.