May 2021 Newsletter
C.U.R.E. has been 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.
C.U.R.E. Family Update:
We are thrilled to have our Parent Advocate, Michelle, on Staff and congratulate her on 2 years of connecting and making a difference to C.U.R.E. Families!
Happy Anniversary, Michelle!
Welcome to our C.U.R.E. Staff team, Laurie Streb!
Laurie joins us as a past C.U.R.E. mom and will be coordinating all of our free programming and activities for our C.U.R.E. Families. We can’t wait for all the fun things we have in store!
Spotlight on: Mitchel
Meet our friend, Mitchel!
Mitchel was diagnosed with Burkitts Lymphoma earlier this year.
Three facts about our friend:
(1) He is funny
(2) He is smart!
(3) He is helpful
When he is admitted at the hospital, he likes to play Fortnite, watch movies, build with Legos and Facetime with Family members.
Mitchel has learned so much about his type of cancer and is always asking questions. Through all of this, he has made his dad stronger and also making himself stronger!
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.
C.U.R.E. Parents & Caregivers:
We hope you’ll consider joining us for some tips and tricks for realistic self-care.
Free of charge to all C.U.R.E. Parents & Caregivers.
Will be facilitated via Zoom.
Click here to RSVP with Laurie.
ATTENTION C.U.R.E. Families:
Our Annual Survivors’ Day Celebration will be another fun Drive-Thru experience this year!
Check your mail and email for more information!
Dads’ Night Out: Big Oak Driving Range
Click here to RSVP with Laurie.
Family Mini Photo Sessions
Our friend at That’s Darling Portraits is offering twenty minute photo sessions to our C.U.R.E. Families during the month of June. The sessions will give immediate C.U.R.E. Families (no relatives) 5-10 digital photos to print or use as you please. The photo sessions will occur at Highland Park.
We are offering the following sessions:
Thursday, June 10th and Thursday, June 17th (4PM, 4:30PM, 5PM, 5:30PM, 6PM, 6:30PM, 7PM, 7:30PM, 8PM)
Saturday, June 12th and Thursday, June 19th (4PM, 4:30PM, 5PM, 5:30PM, 6PM, 6:30PM, 7PM, 7:30PM, 8PM)
C.U.R.E. will be covering the cost of the session.
To sign up for a time, please email Laurie and include the C.U.R.E. Child’s name, your cell phone number, your 1st and 2nd choices for session time and number of people in the shoot 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
Thank you to all our partners and participants! Their support of the 12th Annual 5k and Fun Walk presented by Cornerstone Wealth Management raised over $35,000 to help local families!
A HUGE thank you to our friend Jennie Marie!
Jennie Marie is an Empathic Psychic Medium who partnered with us on April 15th. She hosted an Exclusive Zoom Event where she read participants for 2 1/2 hours! This fundraiser generated $1,250 for C.U.R.E.!! Thank you, Jennie!
To learn more about Jennie Marie, click here.
Thank you to Board member, Sean Fico, his family and his team at A.P. Enterprises Property Services!
A big thank you goes out to the team at A.P. Enterprises Property Services for once again bringing Easter fun to our C.U.R.E. Families. They hosted an event in early March with food, games, their equipment, Easter goodies and a visit from the Easter Bunny himself! Sean Fico, Board Member, also distributes “Courage Medallion” to our C.U.R.E. Kids: “Each C.U.R.E. child is given an AP COURAGE medallion. I tell them that it has superpowers and when they are getting their treatment or having a bad day, they put that on and it'll make everything a little bit better!!”. The event also generated donations from friends of A.P. Enterprises and from the Company itself.
Thank you, Friends!
Thank you, Hearts for Hailey!
Our friends from Hearts for Hailey have made SUCH an impact over the last several years. Through collecting aluminum can tabs, they’ve generated THOUSANDS of dollars in donations to C.U.R.E. to help us fund our Parking Voucher program. Their latest haul was over 3 million can tabs, generating a donation of $1,200!
Thank you to the Coniber Family and the community for continuing to collect tabs, thinking of our friend Hailey and donating them to Hearts for Hailey to help provide parking vouchers for C.U.R.E. Families!
Survivors’ Day Volunteers
We are looking for Volunteers to help make our Survivors’ Day Celebration special!
We need Volunteers for Set Up and for During the event/Clean up.
We would LOVE your help!
We are looking for help with raising awareness in September and could use some help and new ideas!
Some areas of involvement are:
- Contacting local towns and villages to recognize Awareness Month through Proclamations and/or gold ribbons around town
- Helping to “Flock” people’s yards with golden flamingos
- Promoting businesses to light up their exteriors for the month
- Promoting the “Liquid Gold Challenge”
Interested in helping? Email Holly. (Click here to email)
Interested in helping plan this year’s
Recipe for a C.U.R.E.
Sunday Brunch?
Please contact Jonathan if you would like to help in the planning and execution of the year’s largest fundraiser.
We are looking for volunteers who are interested in theming/decorating, the dining room experience, auction, and overall event logistics to name a few.
If you are interested (Click Here) to let Jonathan know!
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.
Join C.U.R.E.’s YPC!
We are re-energizing our YPC (Young Professional Committee)! If you are a Young Professional looking for an opportunity to get involved with C.U.R.E., meet some awesome volunteers and help our families, we would LOVE to have you!
Please reach out to Board Member, Brian Wainwright, to start connecting!
Click me to email!
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
6th Annual Patrick Carr Memorial Golf Tournament
presented by Brighton Securities
Registration is open!
We hope you’ll join us
Monday, July 19th at Deerfield Country Club
Registration includes:
- 18 holes of golf with cart
- Deluxe lunch on the CenterPointe Balcony
- Voucher to return to play 18 holes again sometime within the next year
- Beverages on the course
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.
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.
Want to help make a difference while you shop in the Amazon app, at no extra cost to you?
Simply follow the instructions below to select "C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association" as your charity and activate AmazonSmile in the app. They'll donate a portion of your eligible mobile app purchases to us.
How it works:
1. Open the Amazon app on your phone
2. Select the main menu (=) & tap on "AmazonSmile" within Programs & Features
3. Select "C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association" as your charity
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate AmazonSmile in the mobile app
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!
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.
May Bereavement Group
Please join us for our bereavement group this month on Wednesday, May 5th following our annual Brick Laying Ceremony. There will be a Zoom option 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).
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!