Archives

November 2023 Dear Friends, Why Me’s story is one of resilience, starting with a few dedicated volunteers, a handful of families, little money, and first-hand knowledge of the support services that would be most helpful. We persevered through the years, building Sherry’s House while the need for our services grew. […]

As a managing partner of S & G, LLP, Terry Shepherd is known around Worcester County as a savvy businessman who recently added author to his lengthy list of accomplishments. To us at Why Me & Sherry’s House, he is Sherry’s dad. Sherry was compassionate far beyond her 13 years. […]

December 2022 Dear Friends, Ten years ago, I lost my four-year-old daughter to Leukemia. Sophia was an absolute ray of sunshine. The youngest of my three children, she was carefree, kind, thoughtful, and adoring of her older siblings, Ethan and Hannah. Upon Sophia’s diagnosis, our lives became fraught with uncertainty. […]

Maya Angelou wrote, we delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely see the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. Why Me was the creation of a thirteen-year-old girl and her dream to help kids with cancer, while simultaneously in her own battle with cancer.  Over […]

The first annual 100 Mile Ruck March Challenge took place in July and raised over $73,000 for Why Me. This is a military inspired event, where a small group of athletes ruck (hike) 25 miles a day for 4 days. Camping out each night on the farm of a local […]

Greetings, I am sure we are all looking forward to the beginning of summer, time outside and a return to familiar gatherings. It has been a long fifteen months for all of us and with the lifting of most state Covid restrictions, I am pleased to announce that Sherry’s House […]

Andy Sharry reached out to us in 2017 and proposed joining forces with Worcester Fitness to raise money through a Spin-a-thon. Andy has been involved with Why Me in many different ways.  He coached our marathon running teams, was a member of our board of directors, and held small events […]

Greetings to our Why Me Families, Volunteers, and Supporters – This has certainly been an unprecedented twelve months. One year ago, we all put our lives on hold and hunkered down for two weeks. Weeks turned into months, rooms in our homes became offices and schoolrooms, and familiar routines gave […]

Miss Gold Coast is a part of the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Organization, Inc. – supporting the advancement of women in society by embracing diversity, education and civic action. The organization invests in the women of Connecticut to further their education and provides a platform to propel their futures.  I will […]

Rihanna’s story In September 2013, three-year-old Rihanna was diagnosed with leukemia.  Her parents did not know anything about the disease except that it was life threatening.  Just two months prior her mom had given birth to a baby boy, making Rihanna’s diagnosis even more stressful.  They had to make life […]

              Dear Why Me Families, First and most importantly, I hope you and your family are healthy and safe.  I know that these are unprecedented times, and we are learning to cope with the changes to everyday life.  As a family that has dealt […]

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed much of how we live our lives – and seemingly overnight. Before the shutdown, business owners almost universally told me they were having their best year ever.  I , myself, was looking forward to several performance dates with my band, a new hiking adventure in […]

In early summer, Why Me hosted Brain Tumor Talk – a parent meeting with the focal point being the unique issues that children and families face when diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor.  Why Me focuses on bringing families together knowing that the power in gathering reaches far beyond the […]

Patrick Subaru of Shrewsbury went above and beyond with the 2018 Share the Love event. Each winter participating Subaru dealerships across America “Share the Love” by donating a portion of sales to a local charity.  Why Me was chosen as one of two charities for Patrick Subaru support this year, […]

When thinking about childhood cancer it is not hard to imagine the pain experienced by the entire family. From diagnosis parents, patients and their siblings live in fear of what lie ahead. Invasive procedures, sudden unexpected changes in the families schedule and isolation can lead to feelings of trauma.  On […]

Walking into the clinic waiting room for the first time the weight of it all exploded.  Today my baby will start chemotherapy. It had been five weeks since his initial diagnosis and in that time my world had already begun to shrink.  Everyday brought a new set of challenges that […]

All throughout 2018 we helped to create new fun memories for our Why Me children and families, whenever possible. We hosted a few days of school vacation activities in February and again in April. We had a fun evening out with our Why Me Moms. We celebrated holidays with fun […]

“What are you thankful for?” Somehow the question seems to have been blurred with the hustle of everyday challenges. Black Friday sales, what to bring for Thanksgiving dinner, traffic. Being thankful can mean many different things. When your child is diagnosed with cancer giving thanks takes on many new meanings.  […]

In just under a week, on August 19th, in the heat of the summer 6 runners will be running the Falmouth Road Race for Why Me & Sherry’s House. Sponsored by New Balance, the race is one of the showcase events in distance running and woven into the fabric of […]

Some of you may have noticed a new (yet somewhat familiar) face working at our fundraising events and around Sherry’s House lately.  We would like to welcome Rebecca Kuczarski as the new Director of Fundraising for Sherry’s House! Rebecca is a Why Me mom who was first introduced to the […]

Each year after the holiday rush has settled, in the quiet months of winter,  Why Me hosts a weekend retreat for parents who have lost a child to cancer. The retreat began in the 90’s and has traditionally been held in a camp like setting over a three day two […]

All throughout 2017 we helped to create new fun memories for our Why Me children and families, whenever possible.  We hosted a few days of school vacation activities in February and again in April. We celebrated holidays with fun events at Easter, Halloween and Christmas.  We held movie nights, games […]

The holidays are a time of festive cheer for most, but for a family who have a child with cancer it can mean added stress and anxiety wondering how they will make ends meet.  Why Me tries to alleviate that worry by helping families in a variety of ways.  Listed […]

We only had 3 Halloween’s with Kai.  The first he was a newborn, just about 2 months old.  He wore an orange and black striped onesie and a tiny pumpkin hat that barely fit.  It was a fairly quiet night, our first holiday as a new family.  The second he […]

Children affected by cancer, and their siblings, often spend much of their time outside of treatment in medical appointments and therapies that can make fitting in other activities difficult.    With medication, physical limitations and long term effects of cancer treatments attending a typical  summer camp is not always possible.  Seven […]

Monday evening 21 moms gathered at the British Beer Company on Shrewsbury Street to enjoy a mom’s night out funded by the Why Parent Support Fund.  The night began with lots of hugs that quickly turned to lots of laughs and even a few tears.  Many of these mom first […]

National Volunteer Week took place on April 23-29th. We are so appreciative for each and every volunteer that has and continues to donate their time to us. To celebrate, the week we will be highlighted five different volunteers  to show the variety of roles our volunteers play within our organization. […]

Started in 1989 by Why Me’s first director of family services, Margaret White, the “You Gotta Have Heart” Dance is Why Me’s longest running fundraising event.  Margaret hosted the very first Heart Dance to celebrate the life of her son Jason and raise vital funds for Why Me.  She created […]

Thank you to Andy Sharry, Worcester Fitness and everyone who came out to fourth installment of Touch the Tower with us on Wednesday, March 22nd.  To say it was a cold stroll to Bancroft Tower is an understatement, temperatures hovered around 24 degrees but that didn’t stop anyone.  More than […]

Touch the Tower Fun Run/Walk March 22, 2017 Touch the Tower 4 Andy Sharry and his family have been supporting Why Me and Sherry’s House for over a decade. He was first introduced to Why Me in 2000 when he and his father ran the Bermuda Marathon to support Why […]

Our first Vacation Fun Camp took place six years ago.  We took notice that families who have a child with cancer often don’t have the time or flexibility (with cancer treatment schedules) to go away for vacation.  Going to a local museum is a nice idea, but when your child […]

The Kuczarski Family Fill the Pantry Challenge In the years after their youngest daughter Sophia lost her life to cancer, the Kuczarski family has remained a part of the Why Me family, both through their participation in bereavement programming offered at the house and through an active role as fundraisers […]

All throughout 2016 we helped to create new fun memories for our Why Me children and families, whenever possible.  We hosted a few days of school vacation activities in February and again in April. We celebrated holidays with fun events at Easter, Halloween and Christmas.  We held movie nights, games […]

In case you missed it, the treehouse perched in our backyard was on national TV! It was featured in the July 12 episode of “Treehouse Guys,” a show on the DIY Network that followed the construction of the project. A treehouse is an icon of childhood and the perfect getaway […]