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February 10, 2016. What goes around comes around

Every now and then we receive a generous donation from someone we don’t know so I reach out and ask how they heard of Michael’s Way. This donation came with a letter and he mentioned the kind people who get credit for this contribution. Mr. Kirlin gave me permission to share his letter which you can read below.

Dear Ashley Thompson,

I am sending you this $200 donation to your amazing charity. I am a manager at the Pepsi facility in Philadelphia and recently received an award from my company. Along with the award I was given a $200 donation to the charity of my choice. Your foundation was highly recommended by my cousin, Jeanine. Jeanine’s daughter, Kaylee (my cousin), recently battled a form of pediatric cancer and is alive and well. Jeanine told me Linda Giunta was extremely supportive to Kaylee and her whole family during their trying times. Jeanine spoke the world about your organization and after my own research I just wanted to say thank you for all you do. Your foundation is amazing and extremely inspiring. If there is ever a way that myself and the Pepsi family can help you, please let us know. We do a lot of charity work in the community and are always doing what we can to help out. Again, I want to say thank you and please accept this donation. 

Sincerely,

Chris Kirlin

Thank you to Chris and his family for the support. Thank you to Linda Giunta for being our biggest cheerleader!

P.S. Let’s give a round of applause to PEPSI for promoting this kind of philanthropy. 
 

February 3, 2016. Building Hope for Kids Project

We are teaming up again with the Flyers Wives to remodel the home of St. Christopher’s patient, Bisan Abu Ali. For those of you who did not read about Bisan in our January Spotlight, she is a sweet 9 year old girl who lives with her parents, twin sister and younger sister in Philadelphia. Bisan was diagnosed with progressive optic pathway glioma at the young age of 6 months and attends the Overbrook School for the Blind.

This is our 5th year partnering with the Flyers Wives and we could not be more excited to have selected a GIRL! The project has been underway since the beginning of January which means we have invaded and overwhelmed their space just long enough for them to still like us. In order to keep the finishing touches a surprise, the family will be leaving their home in a few weeks. The big reveal will be held on Sunday, February 21, 2016 at 1pm. We can not wait to see their faces when they walk into their new home! Check back to see the step by step pictures and video.
 

February 2, 2016. February: Logan Snyder, 1st grader at Swiftwater Elementary, Scotrun, PA

Logan was introduced to us years ago by one of our Board Members, Brandy. Logan happens to be her adorable nephew. He is a loving, adventurous, little boy who loves putting Lego sets together, playing Minecraft with his big brother and doing anything outdoors. Luckily, he is able to do what a 7 year old boy wants to be doing which for Logan means swimming and playing T-ball.

When Logan was 15 months old, he became very sick. He was tired a lot and had no appetite. One morning, he woke up with a bruise under his eye that just kept getting worse. Logan had bloodwork done that showed cancer. They discovered a tumor in his abdomen and one behind his eye. Logan was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma and was treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He battled through many surgeries, chemotherapies, radiation and immunotherapies. His mother is now proud to say that Logan has defied all medical odds by overcoming not only a devastating diagnosis but two relapses! He gets scans every 6 months to make sure the cancer does not come back. Hopefully, Logan continues to grow and develop without any long term side effects from all of the harsh treatments. He has a lot of living to do and right now can just enjoy being a kid.

To read more about Logan and his journey, you can purchase a copy of his book, Logan’s War Against Stage IV; A Warrior’s Battle to Victory. Please visit www.loganswar.com for more information.

Information provided by his mother, Ashleigh Snyder.

January 2, 2016. January: Bisan Abu Ali, 4th grader at Overbrook School for the Blind, Philadelphia, PA

Bisan is a happy and kind 9 year old girl who makes friends very easily. This may be in part to being born with her best friend…her twin sister, Bushra. They love all things purple and pink and princess! Bisan and Bushra were also lucky enough to add another sister, Balsam, to their group when they were just a year old.

At the young age of 6 months old, Bisan’s left eye was shaking so her mother rushed her to the Emergency Room. After 10 long hours, an MRI found the tumor in her optical nerves. Her mother was told her newborn baby had cancer and was heartbroken. Based on its location, the tumor cannot be surgically resected. So, Bisan started radiation at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Bisan is diagnosed with progressive optic pathway glioma which affects her vision and she has developed right side weakness in her body for which she goes to physical therapy. Bisan currently receives chemotherapy and is seen at St. Christopher’s as well as CHOP. During the past 9 years, Bisan had a four year period without treatments because her tumor was stable. Her mother recalls those days with a smile and knows they will see them again. Her parents wish for Bisan to be cancer free and can’t wait for future days to see Bisan in a graduation gown and someday a wedding dress.

Bisan and her sisters are so loving and full of hope. They hug the staff at St. Christopher’s as soon as they walk in. It is impossible not to smile when you see how brave and strong they are together!

Information provided by her mother, Sana Abu Ali.

December 30, 2015. Charlotte’s Anniversary

January 1, 2016 will mark the First Anniversary for the Michael’s Way Charlotte Chapter. We could not be more thrilled and impressed with our new relationship. The Oncology Social Workers at The Levine Children’s Hospital make our job very easy and are always so grateful as well. One social worker writes, “It has been such a blessing to be able to offer assistance through Michael’s Way to the families in need”. We feel the same way! There are many exciting events coming up including the First Annual Golf Outing benefitting the Charlotte Chapter. Thank you for all of your kind and generous support getting our next Chapter started! We look forward to working with The Levine Children’s Hospital again.

Happy New Year!
 

December 28, 2015. Inspirational Bert Bell Dinner

On Tuesday, December 15th, over 500 people gathered to support Michael’s Way and the exciting group of honorees including Jim Mora, Kevin Reilly, Kevin Dougherty & Leah Still. The night started off with a beautiful performance of “Silent Night” from Tim Kelly and a group of cancer patients, both presently fighting and survivors. This was the 54th year celebrating Bert Bell and all of the individuals who have contributed to the success of the NFL. Not only do these individuals succeed on the field, they fight hard off the field raising awareness and giving back to their community. Devon Still gave a speech on behalf of his daughter, Leah Still, who was the 2015 Michael’s Way Hero Award recipient. Devon asked all of the patients to come up to the stage recognizing their ability to smile and laugh during their toughest battle. It was a truly inspiring night. Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, honorees and the amazing staff at Vie! We hope the inspiration carries on to the New Year!

December 1, 2015. December: Emmitt Spearman, 2 year old from Emmaus, PA

If you ask a Mom of a two year old boy what her son plays with, cars and trains are always a good guess. On top of playing cars, Emmitt really loves music. He is a natural entertainer and quite the flirt. All of the nurses at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children had the opportunity to fall in love with Emmitt’s beautiful eyes. He also built a great bond with his Doctor, Dr. Halligan.

At the very young age of 14 months old, Emmitt was taken to the pediatrician due to a swollen testicle. Their Doctor thought Emmitt developed a hernia and sent them to meet a surgeon at St. Christopher’s Hospital. That next day, the surgeon scheduled surgery to repair the hernia on October 1, 2014. It was not until Emmitt was in the OR that the surgeon noticed the tumor. Emmitt was diagnosed with Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma. He has had many cycles of chemotherapy, a bone marrow extraction and transplant, radiation and a clinical trial immunotherapy all on top of taking many medications. Thankfully, Emmitt fought hard and his mother hopes the cancer never comes back. She wishes a long, happy life for her little boy!

Find more information on Emmitt here:

https://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/help-emmitt-fight-neuroblastoma-cancer/254790

Information provided by his mother, Carissa Young.

October 30, 2015. November: Dominic Mazzio, 5 year old from Burlington, NJ

We don’t need to tell you that Dominic’s smile is contagious because you can see it for yourself. He has carried that smile through his clinic visits, radiation and physical therapy appointments. Dominic loves people and loves attention from anyone who will give it to him. He can befriend everyone and that is why the volunteers at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House have given him the nickname, “The Mayor”.

Dominic is one in a million. His battle started at a very young age when he was paralyzed before his 3^rd birthday due to a very rare disease called Transverse Myelitis. Dominic relearned how to do everything from moving his fingers to finally walking! Only 1/3 of people with this disease regain the ability to walk again. After doing routine MRIs, they found Dominic’s brain cancer. On August 26, 2014, he was diagnosed with an Inoperable Brain Stem Fibrillary Astrocytoma. His brain tumor is inoperable because of its location in his brain stem and they were told chemotherapy would have little to no effect. He was treated at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with 30 days of Proton Therapy Radiation which successfully shrank his tumor. Dominic recently had his 9 month post radiation MRI and thankfully, results showed no tumor growth!

Big brother Dominic now has more time to play “I Spy” and “Hide and Seek” with his younger sister and brother. His mother, Ashley, dreams of a long and healthy life for Dominic filled with nothing but smiles and laughter. He continues to smile through tough times and that will inspire many!

Information provided by his parents, Ashley & James Mazzio.

October 7, 2015. Logano Foundation Event

On the evening of October 6th, Scott Crutchfield, Director of Michael’s Way – Charlotte, his wife and two of his children attended an event hosted by the Joey Logano Foundation at Joey’s office in Huntersville, NC. The cause was to support World Vision International, a Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. The attendees, which included Joey’s family, friends and members of his pit crew and their families, created over 400 toiletry kits for abused woman who are homeless. The kits will be distributed to four shelters in the coming weeks. The evening was festive with music, food and drinks creating an enjoyable atmosphere while work was being done for such a create cause. We were honored to be apart of the night!

October 7, 2015. A Successful Golf Outing

On behalf of the Board and everyone at Michael’s Way, I would like to thank the volunteers, Stonewall staff, participants but especially the sponsors for participating in our Golf Tournament! Thanks to your generosity we can continue to help the families that have children with cancer. We had a great day for golf and even better day for fundraising! This was our 18th Annual Golf Tournament and we are grateful for the long term friendships that we have built over the years. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you next year!