Donors Archives

Dec 23 2022

Annual Appeal 2022

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. Our world turned upside down emotionally and financially.

We were a Why Me family for the seven months that Sophia was on treatment before her unexpected passing – attending the Holiday Party and Easter Egg Hunt and participating in the parent support group. We got by with the support of our community, but once Sophia was gone, we worried about what support, if any, would still be available.

There’s this saying you hear around Why Me, “Once a Why Me family, always a Why Me family,” and it rang true. We were given bereavement support, not just for my husband Eric and me but also for the kids. We met other bereaved families, and our children formed life-long bonds. This support was pivotal in our healing.

Five years ago, I joined Why Me as the fundraising manager. This August, I became the Executive Director and now oversee the creation and maintenance of programming that was helpful to our family, bringing me full circle with the organization. Hospital visits with coffee and donuts, the presents that showed up when Sophia landed in the hospital right before Christmas, and all the small things in between, were such a relief to us and continue to be for other families like ours.

I can assure you that a childhood cancer diagnosis leaves an impact that lasts a lifetime. Just think of the difference you can make! Every clinic visit, support group meeting, and family fun event would not be possible without our extended community of Why Me supporters.

My family is just one of over 800 that Why Me has supported in the last 37 years. You can be a part of continuing to create special memories and new support services through a gift to Why Me. Please take a moment and read through our annual appeal, highlighting a few of our families and their personal journey with childhood cancer. It also includes some of our family events and fundraisers from the last few years and some dates to note for 2023. Consider making your tax-deductible donation to Why Me here, or mail in your contribution to us at 1152 Pleasant Street, Worcester MA 01602. Please note Annual Appeal in the comments section.

By supporting Why Me, you are investing in our future, so we can continue to help children like my Sophia. Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Warm regards,

Rebecca Kuczarski

Executive Director

“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” – Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb

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Mar 11 2021

Covid-19 pandemic – one year later, thanks to our community

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 way to evolving uncertainty. Perhaps most disruptive was the loss of in-person contact. We all stopped visiting each other, talking face to face, and a good old hug became an elbow bump at best.

We have all done our best to maintain our careers, relationships, and sanity. As I write this letter, spring is in the air, spirits are lifting, and hearts are hopeful that our toughest days are behind us. Many of us are getting our vaccine, schools are moving toward full in-person learning, and businesses will follow. We have all come to appreciate that which was lost and we look to the future with optimism.

I would like to thank all our supporters from the bottom of our full hearts. Together we have made the most of a difficult time and emerged stronger for it.

Family Fun Events that we have had in place for years had to be re-imagined to accommodate new realities. These safety constraints were critical for our families given their fragile health and compromised immune systems. With that came indomitable spirit and grateful hearts for whatever we came up with. We made the most of our wonderful grounds at Sherry’s House with the Haunted Halloween Stroll, Holiday Drive Thru, and Angel Tree Walk. We spent many evenings gathering virtually, whether for support groups or fun – including bingo, cooking and trivia nights. How wonderful that we have been able to continue our traditions and reaffirm that it doesn’t matter where or how we gather but only that we come together to support each other. As most of our fundraisers were cancelled last year, all of this was made possible through the generosity of our donors and supporters. To every single one of you who helped us provide love and support to our families, thank you.

We are making plans for Family Fun Events and all our popular events and gatherings just as soon as it is safe to do so. To our dedicated volunteers, get ready! We will be in touch in the coming months to let you know what we have in store for you and ask that you be patient for just a little longer. If you are not signed up to volunteer with us but would like to, please download the application here. If you would like to get involved from afar, check out our website for fun virtual fundraisers or send us some items from our wish list to keep our pantry stocked.

We are so excited for the light at the end of the tunnel. Better times are coming. Thank you for standing alongside us through this unpredictable year.

Be safe and be joyful,

David Hagan, Executive Director

Nov 20 2020

Consigli Builds Handicap Ramp for Why Me Family

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 altering medical decisions for Rihanna while also giving Roddiel the attention he needed.

Rihanna immediately started chemotherapy treatments and began receiving blood and platelet transfusions. She was handling treatments well and maintained her same spunky personality. After having chemotherapy injected directly into the cerebrospinal fluid via lower spine, Rihanna began to experience severe pain. Then she began to have seizures and suffered a cerebral edema. She was in coma and doctors told her parents that she would not survive. After two months in a coma, with her eyes still closed, Rihanna began to move her fingers – it was a miracle. It was confirmed that she had a stroke, thrombrosis, hydrocephalus and a cerebral edema. Their once energetic daughter was now suffering from paralysis and her parents were told there was nothing more the doctors could do.

Her family immediately uprooted their lives and traveled from Puerto Rico to Boston, for treatment at the Dana Farber. They left everything behind for the chance to save Rihanna’s life. They arrived in Boston where a specialized treatment plan was made that would last for nearly two years. In 2014, they moved into Sherry’s House where they spent a few years managing Rihanna’s care and building a new life for themselves in Worcester. Rihanna’s father got a job at TJX Companies where he works hard to provide for his family.

Consigli steps up

This March, her family purchased a home in Spencer that was not wheelchair accessible. While her father has put in a lot of work to renovate the home, building a wheelchair ramp was too big of a job for him. Over the Summer, Why Me reached out to Consigli Construction for help. They were happy to jump in and help with getting materials donated through local vendors and putting a group together to build the family a wheelchair ramp. Throughout the duration of this project, 35 Consigli volunteers assisted in completing the ramp, helping the family be more comfortable and have more freedom in their new home.

This project would not have been possible without the help from Consigli’s partners at Ashland Lumber, Colony Hardware, Dauphinais Concrete, & Karp Building Supply donating materials. A big thank you to the following Consigli team members for donating their time and skills to help Rihanna’s family:

Dan Alden, Mike Boucher, Jon Burton, Peter Capone, Michael Caputo, Anthony Cheschi, Mike Collins, Lewis DeJesus, Ed Demars, Dan Donahue, David Estella, William Feraco, Mark Finnegan, Pat Flanigan, Jon Gagliardi, Steve Gentilucci, Adam Gordon & Sons: Jacob, Aidan & Colin, Matthew Guimond, Mike Hanlon, Dean Hanson, Mike Haseltine, David Kutz, John Laperle, Gabe Mater, Jack Moran, Janice Narowski, Duarte Pacheco, Cam Patch, Jon Potter, Kyle Raposa, Mark Sanchioni, & Jeffrey Scannell.