10th Anniversary!
Ten years ago today, Andrew’s foundation became a reality as The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation was incorporated in the State of Delaware. Just a few days later, I stopped by A.I. DuPont Hospital to present a $500 check to Billy’s Mom. The B+ Foundation Family Assistance Program had begun. My family and I had received such incredible kindness from our community. We just had to pay it forward to help others who didn’t have this kind of support.
Billy was a 1 year old local boy who was battling a brain tumor. His Mom made $20,000, her power had been turned off, and she was now facing eviction. I remember how difficult it was for me to walk back into that hospital where cancer had stolen my son just 8 weeks earlier. On the day I presented that check, though, I felt as if I was giving this family a gift from Andrew. Thirteen months later, we would help Billy’s Mom again. This time, unfortunately, we helped with funeral expenses.
In 2017 alone, thanks to you, The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation will help 2,500 families…each as special, deserving, and innocent as Billy and his Mom. The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation is the largest provider of financial assistance to families of kids with cancer in the country! And, in 2017 alone, our loyal B+ supporters will help us raise $4,500,000 to fight childhood cancers.
And, because we believe that it’s not enough to just help the families battling today, we also fund research in hopes that we can spare kids and their families this fate in the future. Since inception, we have awarded 48 research grants and we will be awarding 10 more grants in the next six weeks! These next ten grants are part of our current research cycle and they represent an investment of $1,500,000…all thanks to you.
We are at a critical time of exciting discovery in the scientific research of childhood cancers. Research works! History has proven that. We – government, private industry, and charities need to increase our investment. The kids deserve it. Kids are literally alive today because of the research that The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation has helped support.
Over the past 10 years, we have been hard-working partners in the childhood cancer arena as well. We are proud to be a co-founder of the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer, a collaborative group of over 100 childhood cancer organizations across the country. We are also proud to be a member of the 35-member Alliance for Childhood Cancer, a collaboration of both professional groups (oncologists, oncology nurses, oncology social workers) and advocacy organizations. The Alliance has been at the forefront of pretty much all of the key childhood cancer-related legislation on Capitol Hill.
And, from Day 1, we were determined to share Andrew’s perspective on life…as a gift to you and part of his legacy. We shared what it means to “Live Like Andrew”:
Set goals and try your best
Show affection
Spend time with your family
Keep your life in perspective
Appreciate your blessings
Together, we’ve accomplished a heckuva lot in the past 10 years and we should all be very proud.
Andrew, I hope you’re really proud of your foundation! We’re not done yet, though.
May God bless you all!
Ali & Andrew’s Dad