April 2021 Newsletter
C.U.R.E. is here.
From the day of diagnosis, throughout treatment and beyond:
The support doesn’t stop when the treatment stops.
And we are so thankful for our friends who make our support possible.
At C.U.R.E., we are small, but mighty! Our small staff works hard to meet the needs of our families, but couldn’t do all that we do without the help of our loving, dedicated volunteers. From assembling birthday cards for our C.U.R.E. Kiddos monthly to coming into the office to help us organize donations, we think you’re great. The time put into sending “Angelversary” cards to our bereaved parents is meaningful and appreciated. You’ve stuck with us this year, with all the changes and rules to adhere to and we appreciate you. Thank you for your time and dedication to C.U.R.E. Families. We couldn’t provide the meaningful support we provide without your help!
Spotlight on: Lillee
Meet our friend, Lillee!
Lillee is five years old. She likes to play on her tablet, color, play games, watch movies and put together Lego Sets. She also enjoys picking on the Nurses on 7 North when she is admitted for treatment.
Lillee loves to laugh and being goofy. She loves to sing, too! Lillee is one of four girls in her family and is the second oldest sister! Her family also has a puppy named Willow, who she adores.
Free Programming for Families:
Here are the 3 assembly bills promoting Sickle Cell Disease support in NY State this year. The Senate versions of the bills can be found on the individual pages:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/a6429
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/a6430
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/a6431
Below are the assemblypeople for the Rochester area. Please contact the assemblyperson for your district THIS WEEK to tell them to vote and even co-sponsor the bills. Please ask your loved ones to contact their assemblypeople to support these bills.
District 138 Harry Bronson, 840 University Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607, 585-244-5255, bronsonh@nyassembly.gov
District 137 Desmond Meeks, 107 Liberty Pole Way, Rochester, NY 14604, 585-454-3670, meeksd@nyassembly.gov
District 136 Sarah Clark, 1800 Hudson Ave Second Floor, Suite 4 Rochester, NY 14617, 585-467-0410, clarks@nyassembly.gov
District 135 Jennifer Lundsford, 268 Fairport Village Landing, Fairport, NY 14450, 585-223-9130, lunsfordj@nyassembly.gov
District 134 Josh Jensen, 2496 West Ridge Rd. Rochester, NY 14626, 585-225-4190, jensenj@nyassembly.gov
Free Movie Night Out
C.U.R.E. Parents & Caregivers are invited to a fun movie night out at Cinemark Tinseltown to see “Game Night”
Friday, April 16th
7:15 PM
Parents must RSVP with Holly (holly.dutcher@curekidscancer.com)
Space is limited.
Parents & Caregivers of Kids off Treatment or Coming Off Treatment Soon
Please join us for a Zoom Gathering.
Meet other parents, chat with Michelle, ask questions.
If you are interested in joining, Michelle will post a Zoom link in the CLOSED Parent to Parent Facebook Group. You can also send her an email by clicking here.
We’ve got you covered!
C.U.R.E. has been gifted filtered and unfiltered cloth masks as well as surgical masks! We have child sized cloth masks and adult sized surgical and cloth. If our families are in need of masks, please contact us to arrange getting you some! Send us an email if you are in need: Click me to email.
Our friends at Golisano Children’s Hospital sent us this great Toolkit to help parents explain mask wearing to their kiddos. Check it out here.
Donate Blood!
Many of our children depend on blood transfusions and blood products in the course of their treatment. With the recent pandemic, blood drives have been halted. Our children are still in need of blood products. Please consider donating blood if you are well enough to. Visit redcrossblood.org to set up an appointment time. They are adhering to social distancing guidelines to fulfill the need.
YOU can help C.U.R.E. for FREE
1) Follow us on social media:
Facebook page: facebook.com/curekidscancerrochester
Instagram: @curekidscancer
Twitter: @curekidscancer_
(2) Write a review about C.U.R.E. on our Facebook Page or on Google
(3) Write a blog that can be shared on our website.
(4) Contact our Parent Advocate about doing a Facebook Live or Instagram Takeover
(5) “Like”, Share or comment on our posts on social media!
Imaginary Friend Society:
A cancer diagnosis is scary for anyone, but for a child it can be even scarier. They’re bombarded with terminology and procedures that are intimidating and unfamiliar. Things like radiation, hair loss, blood transfusions, chemotherapy, and surgery. Just to name a few.
That’s where the Imaginary Friend Society comes in: a cast of characters inspired by the imaginations of kids themselves. Through a series of 20 animated short films, our imaginary friends explain a wide range of complicated cancer topics in a way that kids can understand. Because the more they understand about their treatment, the less scary it will be. To learn more, click here.
GRYT Health connects patients and caregivers to others with shared experience and to information relevant to their journey.
Through the GRYT app, we’ve created a platform for people affected by cancer to connect to others with similar experiences, and to tailored information that helps our users become more aware of options specific to their needs or diagnosis – empowering them to make choices that are right for them.
Our community of patients, survivors, medical professionals, researchers and advocates across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 100 countries worldwide have participated in almost 1,000,000 interactions to date, inspiring people to live according to their own standards.
Trust from our community is paramount to our success and something we take very seriously. We never share any of our users’ information without their explicit permission. Unlike other apps, GRYT is the first social community that is funded, built, and run by patients and caregivers where users communicate anonymously in real-time and each person is 100% in charge of what happens with their data.
For Fathers of Pediatric Oncology Patients:
This is a personal account of a father's struggle to try and save his son, Max, who suffered from two cancers. The author expresses his hopes, fears, and emotions during the illness, and the growing love that developed between them. He describes how it feels to be a parent of a cancer-stricken child and demonstrates the amazing endurance and courage of children undergoing cancer treatment.
Free to read as a digital download if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited -
– Click here to learn more
A HUGE thank you to our friends Mike and Shannon Speranza, friends from the ACF Rochester’s Professional Chefs/Cooks Association, who created a phenomenal menu and worked with 12 C.U.R.E. families to cook a delicious three course meal! It’s not easy to teach such a large group via ZOOM, but they did a fantastic job. Thank you for sharing your time and talents with us, Chefs!
Thank you, T.J. Connor Elementary!
We are so grateful for our friends for participating in the Penny Drive at their school! They collected $230 for our families! That’s A LOT of pennies!! Thank you for thinking of C.U.R.E. the families we provide support to!
Looking for Volunteers!
Our Julie Roberts Children’s Memorial Garden wouldn’t be as beautiful without the TLC from our wonderful volunteers! Sign up for a week to care for our garden this year!
Garden TLC involves weeding, trimming bushes/trees, pruning the garden and watering the garden.
Sign up here.
We want to connect!
If you served on the Board of Directors for C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association, we would love to stay connected! Please email Holly Dutcher to connect!
holly.dutcher@curekidscancer.com
We are so thrilled to be partnering with Jennie Marie once again!
Jennie Marie is offering an EXCLUSIVE Zoom Group Reading to C.U.R.E. limited to 25 participants. Jennie Marie is an Empathtic Psychic Medium and starred in TLC’s “Mama Medium”. She’s a local mom with an amazing gift.
Thursday, April 15th @ 6:30 PM via ZOOM
Participation is limited, so purchase your tickets ASAP!
To learn more about Jennie Marie, visit her website here.
Register today!
Our 12th Annual 5k and Fun Walk “Miles Apart, But Always in Our Heart” presented by Cornerstone Wealth Management is live!
The best part? You can join us from virtually anywhere! The event will be a competitive 5k run for those who wish to participate: just download the Nike Run App and find our event!
Not a runner? That’s ok! You can be a “FUND”racer and raise funds for C.U.R.E.!
Click the button above “Register Today” to learn more!
If you are interested in running a Penny Drive in your school or place of work, just let us know! We will provide flyers and collection jugs. Email Jonathan with any questions.
6th Annual Patrick Carr Memorial Golf Tournament
presented by Brighton Securities
Registration OPENS April 1st!
Monday, July 19th at Deerfield Country Club
The Support Doesn’t Stop When Treatment Stops…
Because of YOU and your kindness.
Support our mission year-round by becoming a C.U.R.E. Ambassador! A C.U.R.E. Ambassador is a donor who commits to our mission through a monthly donation of his/her choosing. Whatever level you are comfortable with makes a difference!
Click here to learn more.
C.U.R.E. + Astral Power
We have partnered with Astral Power to give our C.U.R.E. supporters access to renewable energy! The solar energy comes from the solar farm on Washington Street in Ogden. Once you sign up, your utility will automatically credit your utility bill for being a member, saving you a guaranteed 10% of your utility costs per year.
Signing up is easy:
(1) Call Rylea (585) 402-9313
or
(2) go to: https://www.astralpower.com/#signup
”How Did You Hear About Us” Select “Customer Referral” and enter “CURE” in “Referred By”
Get your C.U.R.E. Gear
Rock C.U.R.E. Elite Sport Socks!
These super comfortable and supportive sport socks are HERE! What a great way to show support for C.U.R.E. and small businesses, they are made in the USA! Rock them while you are working from home or out exercising. Sandal season is over, rock these cozy socks today!
Bereavement Corner
We are hoping for feedback from our Bereaved Parents Community.
Are there programs or services you would be interested in that C.U.R.E. may be able to offer to help support you and your family or to connect with other families?
Is there a safe, social activity you would like to participate in?
We would love some feedback and ideas.
This has been a particularly difficult and isolating year.
Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help.
Please send any messages and feedback to Holly Dutcher. Click me to email.
April Bereavement Group
Please join us for our bereavement group this month on Wednesday, April 7th via Zoom, from 7:00 - 8:30 PM. Michelle Magin, C.U.R.E.’s Parent Advocate, Liz & Paul Conrow and Debra Zalar (bereaved parents), will be leading this meeting. Please check your email for the Zoom link or contact the C.U.R.E. office to receive it (staff@curekidscancer.com).
Wishlist Items Needed:
We are so grateful to the community for all of the wonderful donations we receive throughout the year. We could not service all the families we do without this generous support. If you or a community group you belong to is looking for something to do for a charity, please consider donating items from C.U.R.E.’s wish list so that we can continue to provide for our families:
A cure for childhood cancer, blood diseases and brain tumors!
- Gift cards for Wegmans, Tops, Wal-Mart, Target and gas cards
- Gift cards for GrubHub, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Moe’s, Chipotle, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks
- Crafts for young adults and children
- Facial Cleansing Wipes and body wash
- Items for teens or young adults
- Fabric Markers
-Toys (Please look at our Amazon Wish Lists:
Under $20: https://a.co/hlW4hCO
$20 - 50: https://a.co/eHiQcV2
$50+: https://a.co/bVDujCy)
We ask that all items be new and recently purchased. Thank you!