Emotional Weekend
It was a VERY busy and emotional weekend! On Saturday, the students of New York University turned out for NYDM and on Sunday, our flagship event at the University of Delaware was a huge success!
I’m SO proud and appreciative of the thousands of kind, compassionate, and dedicated students from around the country who partner with us to fight childhood cancer. These two events from this weekend, raised $2.3 MILLION. This will allow us to help so many deserving families of kids with cancer and fund cutting-edge research. And, thank you very much to their generous donors.
Watching the B+ Heroes at both schools just warmed my heart. The students make our kids & families feel so special. When the B+ Heroes are running around having fun, as a parent, I look at their parents and love seeing the joy on their faces watching their kids enjoying themselves.
I am always so touched when the college students come up to me and tell me that their participation in a B+ event has been a life-changing experience that they will never forget. It literally gives me chills.
But, it’s not all fun. As you’ll see in one of the photos below, many of our school events have “Reflection Rooms” where they honor the brave, INNOCENT children who were partnered with their school and who died from cancer. It really means a lot to me that they never forget Andrew, or any of the other children. As I stood onstage yesterday in front of ~4,000 people, I shared the story of my son’s death. And, it hurts every time! Believe me, I want every single child to survive! But, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t wonder why my son isn’t one of the survivors walking across the stage. I miss Andrew SO much!!!
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UDance 2025
As you can see below, the Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware was packed yesterday for UDance 2025. I’m told that about 6,000 students came through the arena during the 12 hour marathon and many parents as well. We had nearly 40 B+ Heroes (kids with cancer and their siblings) walk across the stage during B+ Hero Hour. The UDance students did an incredible job turning a basketball arena into a carnival-themed party for the kids and families. The B+ Hero Family Room was a well-decorated and quiet break from the noise. And, thanks to Buddy Valastro (“Cake Boss”), we had a really nice cake. UDance 2025 raised $1,810,026!!!
NYDM 2025
Cold and rainy weather did not keep the NYU students away. As you can see in the picture below, the Kimmel Center room was packed. There was more energy than ever before. We heard from a B+ Hero Mom as well as a NYU student who is a childhood cancer survivor. The talks were very moving. Thank you to University President Linda Mills for stopping by to address the students. It was a great day to celebrate a year of hard work and NYDM 2025 raised $445,994!!!
I’d like to give a special shout-out to my colleagues, Carly Bergstein, Carlie Gallagher, and Hugh McLaughlin for all their hard work in supporting the students.
Ali & Andrew’s Dad