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Why Me

Love and Support for Families with Childhood Cancer

Celebrating National Volunteer Appreciation Week

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.

 Volunteer Highlight #1: Carol

Carol has been a volunteer with Why Me for over ten years. She donates her time tutoring at Sherry’s House for children in residence. Carol can also be found helping in the kitchen at monthly support groups and works with the kids in our mixture of memories bereavement group siblings.

“I first went to Sherry’s House to donate books and I was hooked. I believe that God puts us where we need to be. I viewed this as my new teaching assignment now that I was retired. I may tutor these kids about their school lessons, but in return, they inspire me about what life’s lessons are all about – hope, perseverance and love. I know this is where I need to be.”

 

 

Volunteer Highlight #2: Sue

Sue began volunteering in 2012 as a commitment to honoring the life of a family member taken too young. Each week Sue sent home-cooked meals over to Sherry’s House for families in residence. Volunteering her time and talents on her own schedule, Sue continues to donate meals for our monthly support groups, send along homemade gifts for families residing at Sherry’s House and create gift baskets for our fundraising events.

“Why Me is a very special organization run by an amazing, caring, creative group of people.My daughter-in-law, Amanda, lost her brother quite unexpectedly in 2011. Her family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to Why Me. At the funeral, David’s best friend asked that we take with us some of David’s spirit of generosity, kindness and love of children. That the best way to honor him was to be like him and continue to make the world a better place. I began volunteering to make meals for the families that live in Sherry’s House. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to have the opportunity to work with this wonderful group of people.”

Volunteer Highlight #3: Clare

Clare began volunteering on her own in 2013 at our annual Why Me summer camp. She loved spending time with the kids, and so she continued to volunteer her time at monthly support group meetings and family fun events. In 2015, Clare chose Why Me as the volunteer site for her school Notre Dame Academy’s required Love In Action volunteer program. As part of this program, Clare has made a 2 year commitment to volunteering each week at Sherry’s House. She spends time with the kids at Sherry’s House after school, during vacation weeks, support groups and fun events.

“I love being able to come to Why Me and see the same faces every week. You create such a bond with these kids and that’s not something you can find other places.”

Volunteer Highlight #4: Jim

Jim began volunteering with Why Me shortly after the organization started. Through the years Jim has been a fixture at Why Me events (both fundraising and family fun), capturing moments that have turned into cherished memories. Jim’s photographs are a snapshot in time, telling a story filled with smiles, laughter and fun. This month alone Jim was at three events, donating precious weekend days to Why Me.

“I have loved volunteering for Why Me for the last 28 years. I do it for the kids, their families and their smiles!!”

 

 Volunteer Highlight #5: Ken

Ken has logged hundreds of miles running and cycling to raise money for Why Me. Ken drives up from Connecticut to volunteer at our Family Fun events, doing anything from helping kids with their craft projects to putting on the Boo-Boo Bear costume for photos.

“Back, when I first visited Why Me, I met an amazing young girl Kailiah. A young cancer survivor with humor and a fearless outlook on life, she became an inspiration for me to utilize running and cycling as fundraising events for Why Me. A true blessing with such a positive attitude bundled with her faith. I enjoy volunteering at the Easter Egg Hunt, the Christmas party and other events that are offered for the kids. It is such a joy to see the smiles and the kids laughing during these times and the bonds that have been created over the years. Such amazing work done through Why Me. I have always enjoyed doing volunteer work and serving others but nothing quite as rewarding as working with this team. Not only happy to participate but more importantly happy because I followed Gods path”.

“Volunteers are love in motion” – Anonymous

As National Volunteer Week comes to an end we reflect back on how fortunate we have been to have had so many wonderful volunteers walk beside us in our mission to help children with cancer. We have been able to assist over 625 families in 30+ years and none of that would be possible without the dedication of our volunteers. We chose to highlight 5 individuals this week to provide a small peek into the variety of ways one can get involved. However there have been hundreds of names and faces over the years that have contributed their time, talents and hearts to Why Me and we are just as thankful for each and every volunteer. If you have ever thought about wanting to get involved but don’t know where to start, reach out. We would love to hear from you and help you put your love for Why Me into motion.

Thank You for Touching the Tower with Why Me

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 60 participants braved the bitter cold and raised over $775 for Why Me, bringing the Touch the Tower events total well over $2,500.  All money raised has directly benefitted our Why Me families and we are so thankful for the support Andy and Worcester Fitness continue to provide.   The next Touch the Tower event will be on June 21st, more information to come.  View all the photos from the event here, photos courtesy of Kill the Ball Media.

touch the tower 4
Photo by: www.joesantamaria.com

 

Learn more about the Touch the Tower events here.

 

February Vacation Fun Camp at Sherry’s House

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 has a compromised immune system something as simple as a cough can put a child battling cancer in the hospital for weeks.

Families look forward to our Why Me School Vacation Fun Camp, knowing their child (and his/her siblings) will have the opportunity to participate in fun activities in a safe and familiar environment.  Additionally Sherry’s House is ever mindful that many of these children are immune compromised and so it brings parent’s confidence knowing that the air filtration system at Sherry’s House utilizes both HEPA filters & ultraviolet radiation (UV) to eliminate airborne microorganisms and spores, specifically designed with these delicate immune systems in mind.

Not only do these vacation camps offer our families a chance to socialize outside of the hospital, but it gives parent’s a peace of mind knowing they can do so in safe, clean setting.

We always enjoy seeing many familiar and new faces during vacation camps at Why Me.  This February Fun Camp was no different, as our arts & crafts room was packed full of kids.

touch tankOn Tuesday, February 21st we kicked off camp with a visit from Mystic Aquarium and their traveling touch tank.  This was a great experience for the kids to touch/hold some snails, crabs and a lobster. We ended the day with a fun craft where each child got to make their own mason jar aquarium.  It was fun to see how different each one came out.  Some were filled with glitter, others were as dark as the ocean at night.  Overall the kids had a blast learning all about ocean life.

On boy paintingWednesday, February 22nd Just Paint led a fun cupcake themed painting activity.  The kids had a great time and got quite creative with their paintings.  After everyone finished we then decorated and enjoyed homemade cupcakes.

 

 

girl with face painted

For our final day of Fun Camp we held movie night on Thursday, February 23rd.  The arts & crafts room at Sherry’s House was packed with families ready for a showing of Secret Life of Pets on the big screen.  The kids were treated to amazing face painting courtesy of Face Painting by Christine Z.

Thank you to all of our visitors, volunteers, and Why Me families who attended. View all of our February Vacation Camp photos here.

 

 

Thank You for Another Great Year

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 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 2017.

Why Me & Sherry’s House Achieves Stardom!

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 to enjoy the forest canopy for quiet moments alone or play a board game with a friend. Through a child’s imagination you can search the jungle for exotic animals, protect the fort from invaders or watch for pirates. What started as a dream became a reality through the generous assistance from private donors and foundations, along with the gift of time, effort and materials from community businesses and volunteers.

The treehouse is a 16ft octagon suspended eight feet off the ground in a 100-year-old red oak. Donated landscape lighting brings this escape to life at night for all to enjoy at evening gatherings. The treehouse has natural seating, game tables, lookouts and much more. It’s the perfect 360-degree vantage point of the surrounding woods and playground. The area underneath is a naturalized garden, Margaret’s Memory Garden, perfect for a stroll on paths through forest flowers to the brook or a rustic bench to enjoy the wind in the leaves. We never stop dreaming and with your continued commitment, we’ll never stop doing.