Robin Capecci, Oncology Social Worker at St. Christopher’s Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

Robin studied undergrad at West Chester University and then went straight to University of Pittsburgh for her Masters. She is an extremely hard worker and has dedicated over 30 years of her life at the hospital. A social worker gets to meet all different kinds of people and help them but they also see bad things happen to good people. She is always thinking about others first and her daughter says, “I want her to get to enjoy life because she is always worrying about everyone else”. Robin and her husband, Joe, have been married for 28 years. Joe Capecci, suffers from Multiple Systems Atrophy and she is his primary caretaker. Their daughter, Allie, is 20 years old attending Penn State University.

Robin loves her family and friends, going to the beach, book club with her neighbors, throwing parties and taking walks. She is funny, relatable and can and will talk to everyone! She and her family wish for a cure or medicines to slow the progression of Multiple Systems Atrophy. “My mom is truly the most selfless and wonderful person I know,” says Allie.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” –Winston Churchill

Information provided by her daughter, Allie Capecci.

Danny is a humble and kind young man who, like most teenage boys, loves sports and fishing. Danny is a strong athlete and excels at baseball as a pitcher. At the age of 13, during winter practice, Danny complained of an ache above his knee. When the “injury” did not get better, he went for an x-ray which showed an irregularity in his femur. Two days later, Danny was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, otherwise known as bone cancer. After surgery and 21 rounds of chemotherapy at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Danny walks cancer free. His latest scans were clear so his family celebrated!

Danny’s parents could not be more proud of the way he has handled this curveball. He has always been a wonderful brother to his 3 sisters and now is a great role model to all of his peers as well. Danny has inspired so many with his positive attitude. His peers said, “He is the strongest kid we know”.

To follow his journey, please visit www.turn24danny.com.

Information provided by his mother, Gary and Anne Hill.

Not many kids spend their Friday nights giving back but Dan Hill is not most kids. And if you’ve ever coordinated any kind of event, you know it takes more than one night. Throw Cancer a Curveball raised over $11,000 and it is all thanks to 3Dimensional Physical Therapy of Medford, NJ and the Hill Family! They ran a very successful fundraiser at Big League Dreams. Danny Hill and his family have now become our family. We are lucky to have met you. Thank you for your kind and generous hearts, you have a lot to be proud of!
 

Last night’s Grand Opening in Charlotte is going to be tough to beat! Scott Crutchfield, Michael’s Way Board Member, introduced us to the Charlotte community and we were welcomed with great food, drink and conversation. Our new friends at the NASCAR Foundation attended to show their support and ran into one of their own…Joey Logano! Mr. Logano made an exciting appearance as he closed the night out with a $30,000 donation to Michael’s Way! Thank you to the Joey Logano Foundation for that generous donation! Since January, we have been working with the Oncology social workers at Levine Children’s Hospital and they have expressed the great need for financial support. Thanks to his contribution, we will be able to make a significant impact on the lives of families that have children with cancer. We are thrilled with this recent expansion and look forward to many more good things to come!
 

We have been all over your TV and newspaper! If you missed us, please catch up with the links below.

Thank you to the media for covering this heartwarming story about Zander, a 5 yr old leukemia patient, and his family as they let us into their home for a very exciting renovation! Building Hope for Kids is a home renovation project created by the Flyers Wives. We have been lucky enough to partner with the Philadelphia Flyers and Flyers Wives for the past four years!
 

Philly.com: Cause & Celebration: Building Hope for Kids Flyers Block Party

Northeast Times: Labor of Love

NHL.com: Jakub Voráček video

Scott Crutchfield invites you to join him Thursday, April 16, 2015 at Myers Park Country Club For a reception to introduce Michael’s Way to the Charlotte community.
 
When: Thursday, April 16th
Time: 5:30-7:00pm
Where: Myers Park Country Club
2415 Roswell Ave
Charlotte, NC 28209
704-376-0741
 
RSVP by April 13th:
Trish Fulvio, pafulvio@aol.com, 484-433-7767

Michael’s Way and Flyers Wives have come together to create Building Hope for Kids. We are in our 4th year!  Each year,  we partner together to work with social workers at various children’s hospitals to help identify a chronically ill child with Cancer from a family in Philadelphia that needs to make renovations to their home. This year we have chosen four-year old Zander from North East Philadelphia, who has Leukemia. With lots of help, we renovate the child’s bedroom and even other rooms of the house as we see fit. Improving the home means improving the quality of life for the patient.

Please stay tuned for photo and video updates of the progress on the house.

How do you thank someone? Nothing matters more then our little boy’s recovery from cancer, yet our children need a roof over their heads, food, heat in the winter, a working vehicle to drive our son for his treatments, to get to the grocery store…

Before Wyatt was diagnosed, the world we were raising our children in seemed rather bleak, selfishness the norm, anger, heartache, crime increasing – not the dream every parent historically has for their children’s future. But we were wrong. Amidst the heartache and terror of having a child being treated for cancer these past five years, has come the realization that we are indeed, never alone in this world, that there are so many people who truly care! Some are families who have walked in our shoes and know all too well the road we travel. Many have not and yet reach out in the name of a child, often they have never even met!

How do you thank someone? Do you tell about the tears that trickle upon your face when you think about THEIR sacrifice for your child and family? Do you describe the conversations you have with your children, when you get to say “see, no matter how difficult things may get, God will always help us, and see how He does it through the hands of such kind people” ? Do you simply say that a burden lifted from an already heavy heart, lightens the load enough to allow much needed smiles and laughter in between the pain? Do you let them know you pray for them with your children?

How do you thank someone? I know I don’t know anything that could ever fully express how we feel. I guess, you just say the words. From the deepest recesses of our hearts, THANK YOU! And God bless you.

With much love,

The Vernborg Family