Why Me

Love and Support for Families with Childhood Cancer

What are you thankful for?

“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.  As a parent you are forced to let go of a lot, adjust expectations and hold onto new hopes.  You become thankful for the things that once felt ordinary. A home cooked meal after weeks in the hospital. Visiting with family and friends after months of isolation. Watching your child ride his/her bike through the neighborhood. Simply making it through a difficult day.

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”  – A.A. Milne in Winnie-the-Pooh

During our monthly Parent Support Group meeting we asked some Why Me kids and their siblings what they are thankful for. Their unique perspective is below.

 

 

The Road to Falmouth Road Race 2018

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 summer on Cape Cod, like Fourth of July fireworks and Labor Day weekend cookouts. Each Why Me runner was asked to fundraise a minimum of $1,000 to help support our programming.  If you would like to help our runners reach their goals click here to donate and write the name of the runner in the comments section.

Deb and Erica: Deb and Erica are the mother/daughter duo of the Why Me team. They have run the Falmouth Road Race for the last 3 years but their involvement with us began long before that, over 12 years ago.

When my daughter Erica was 12 years old, she selected Why Me for a community service project. We came in for an initial tour and were so impressed and moved by what we saw and heard that Erica wanted to start volunteering that day! She began shortly thereafter – helping to clean and neaten Sherry’s House to provide a comfortable and sanitary setting for the children and their families.

We cannot begin to fathom the magnitude of emotions and physical, financial and logistical effects that a childhood cancer has on a child and their family. However, from our exposure to Why Me, we have come to understand and appreciate the range of services and the amount of caring, love, community support and financial assistance that they provide to families battling a childhood cancer.

This is our 4th year running the Falmouth Road Race for the Why Me team. We will be thinking about the children and their families as we run the 7.1 miles from Woods Hole to Falmouth. We imagine that the strength and determination we will exert on race day is what the children and their families must put forth every single day. The support of our donors has always been the wind at our backs, easing our efforts; we hope that their generosity also helps lighten the burden – at least a little bit – for the children and families who are supported by Why Me.

Emily: My name is Emily and I am a resident of Shrewsbury, Ma. I am a fourth grade elementary school teacher. The reason why I am running for Why Me is because back in high school I was able to see firsthand the great things that Why Me does for families with children battling cancer. I had to do volunteer hours for a class and decided to give my time to Why Me organizing the food pantry. When I was done I was allowed to go outside and play with the children. Every single child had a smile on their face and I enjoyed every time I got to go and volunteer. Why Me is a fantastic organization that looks to help others. When I noticed they were on the list of charity teams I reached out right away. I have wanted a reason to get back into running and what better way to do it then running the Falmouth Road Race for a great cause. I have started training and will be ready for August 19th!

Jeremy: I am fortunate to have chosen a profession in life science research field where I am able to work on developing new technologies that enable advances in discovery and development of new treatments and therapies for cancer. The cancer research community has made significant progress in understanding the basis of tumor development and progression and while I remain steadfast in my belief that these discoveries will translate into new and safer treatments, I want to help families who are facing the battle with cancer today. I am running for the Why Me & Sherry’s House in memory of friends and love ones who have provided inspiration to me and my family.

Kim:  I work for Whittier Rehab Hospital as a Clinical Liaison and too often I see the emotional, financial and physical stress an illness can bring to patients and their families. I am running for a charity that I know will help ease that stress and the money I raise will help Why Me to continue to help and support these children and their families.

Michelle: Hi! I am Michelle and I am running the Falmouth Road Race for Why Me. I love running and what better way to help support this wonderful organization?! I believe in what Why Me does and stands for. I run because the money I raise will help them continue helping families.

2017 Year End

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 nights and attended a few sporting events in Boston and Worcester. We watched parents bravely share their journey with attendees at our fundraising events.  Overall, we did what we have for the last 30+ years – stand by our families and help provide moments of joy that they will remember long after their cancer treatment.

Thank you to our families for allowing Why Me into your lives.  A special thank you to our donors and volunteers – we couldn’t create so many smiles without your help.

We look forward to making new memories in 2018.

 

Holiday Giving

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 below are a few ways you can support us as we lessen the burden on our families:

 

1. Hold a Gift Card Drive – The increased needs of a child being treated for cancer often result in mounting financial stress.  Gift cards help lessen the financial burden on families while away from home and commuting to the hospital at a time when income is reduced and expenses are escalating. Gift cards for gas, grocery stores, pharmacies, fast food, restaurants, and VISA/AMEX are especially helpful during such a difficult time.

2. Hold a Food Drive – The food pantry at Sherry’s House is always open to Why Me families.  We are always looking for groups and individuals to host food drives for us throughout the year so that we can continue to offer this amenity to our families. Visit our wish list for an update list of needed items.

3. Hold a Toy Drive – Travel sized games, legos,  and craft kits make great little items for us to bring along on visits to the hospital and make clinic appointments go faster. We also provide gifts throughout the year for birthdays, treatment milestones and more. Due to the compromised immune system of the kids, we can only accept new toys.

4. Make a Holiday Tribute – Give the gift of a donation to Why Me this Holiday Season.  We will send a card to your loved one, friend, or colleague that the donation is made in honor of. To make a Holiday Tribute click here. Please include in the comments section “Holiday Tribute” with the name and address of the person you would like the card to go to. Please call Robyn at 508-757-7734 to make a donation over the phone.  You may also mail your check, made payable to Why Me, to 1152 Pleasant Street, Worcester, MA 01602 – Attention Robyn

5. Amazon Smile – Why Me receives a small portion of every purchase made when you use Amazon Smile and designate Why Me as your charity of choice.

 

All donations can be dropped off during office hours of Monday – Thursday 9-5pm, Fridays 9-3pm.  Give us a call at 508-757-7734 if you have any questions or to request an after-hours drop off.

Why Me Summer Camp 2017

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 years ago Why Me recognized the need to provide a typical day camp experience for families, within the safety and security of the house, providing an important social and recreational outlet for the children and a small respite for the parents. Why Me mom Gabriela Molinari shares, “Attending camp means the world to us. We forget about fighting cancer and we can enjoy time with other families and see our kids having fun.”  Molinari’s youngest son Thiago was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2014 at age 3. Since his diagnosis, the Molinari family have utilized many services at Why Me and work to give back in any way they can.

The needs and feedback of families like the Molinari’s are what guide growing programs such as camp.  The Why Me Summer Camp program has now grown to serve 30 families over 4 weeks of programing each summer.  Each day of camp features unique activities, crafts and lunch that get the children laughing learning and playing. Cooperative icebreaker activities such as the Hawaiian Play Dough Competition, Marshmallow Tower Competition, and Safari hunt help the children connect to their strengths and similarities outside of their diagnosis.  While holiday themed activities such as the trick or treat costume parade, Easter egg coloring, and gingerbread house making contest help create new memories of activities some of the children may have missed out on over the year.

“Many kids going through treatment cannot play at the beach due to germs, get their lines wet in the pool, or do day trips due to exhaustion. Summer camp is held from 10am-1pm, so the kids can sleep in a little, do their morning routine, have fun at camp, and still have time for appointments or leisure in the afternoon.” explains Alyssa Bellino, camp instructor.

“I really do love every day of camp, but animal week is always my favorite because the kids get SO excited. The animals are like little celebrities to them. I also love seeing the kids support and relate to one another.  Here they do not feel self-conscious or embarrassed. I’ve overheard many kids say “wait you had cancer too?” It’s nice to see them open up to the volunteers or each other about their journey.”

Starting as a high school volunteer at Why Me Bellino has been running camp since 2015.  In addition to the daily running of camp Bellino works with volunteers and local businesses to provide an engaging and worthwhile experience for the families. Why Me camp counts on over 25 dedicated volunteers throughout the summer, including those donating lunches and materials for projects. This year the Molinari family cooked lunches and made fried dough for the campers. “I love to cook and Sherry’s House has helped our family in so many ways.  Making lunch is the least I can do.  We just want to be able to give back when we can.”   

Many organizations and companies attend camp year after year providing special events such as The Museum of Science Reptile Show, Animal Craze Animals, Magic World Amusements & Entertainment and many more.  “For many, it is not easy to face pediatric cancer, but we have been so fortunate to have the continued support of these organizations. Most of them offer a discount or even donate their time and services completely. Camp would not be possible without generous volunteers, who come day in and day out in order to allow the kids to have fun. It’s really nice to see how many compassionate and generous people there are in our community.”

A special thank you to all of our campers, special guests, and volunteers – including Team Thiago and Hillcrest Church for providing lunches. More photos can be found here.

 

If you would like to volunteer time, services or a donation to support this programing please visit https://whyme.org/get-involved/

 

2018 End of the Year

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 … [Read More...]

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