Mon. Jan. 20th
"Kids Helping Kids Fight Cancer"
It means so much to me to see kids embrace the fight against childhood cancer and the B+ message. In just the last week:
The B+ Club at Wilmington Friends School (yes, you can start a B+ Club at your school) organized a "Quakeover Cancer" dance marathon for Friends, Tatnall, Tower Hill, and Sanford Schools. In their inaugural year, they had an ambitious goal of raising $20,000 to fight childhood cancer. I am thrilled to say that not only did they have a blast and generated a lot of awareness of these terrible diseases, but they succeeded in surpassing their goal of $20,000! These kids are true B+ Ambassadors! Thank you, Meera, Lu, Mrs. Woodward, and everyone who made this event such a huge success.
One of our NYDM (New York University dance marathon) students, Alex, is currently studying in Australia. While hanging out on Bondi Beach in her B+ shirt, a guy came up to her and asked her if she attends the University of Delaware. Turns out he had been involved with UDance at Delaware for B+ when he was a student. They talked about their mutual involvement and passion for helping The B+ fight childhood cancer. How cool is that?
I spoke at two assemblies last week at McVey Elementary School in Newark, DE. The two groups were K-2 and 3-5 graders. I LOVE speaking with kids. They are so innocent and they ask the most genuine (and sometimes hilarious) questions. Their teachers have organized a B+ Month. Some of the questions/comments I got that day and at other schools are:
- "If Andrew was still alive, I would be his friend because he sounds nice."
- "How sad were you when you watched Andrew die?"
- "Why do children get cancer and die?"
- "How much do you miss Andrew?"
- "If you could say one thing to Andrew, what would it be?"
- "Where is Andrew now?"
When I speak to adult groups, I can usually predict the questions. I don't get too many surprises. But, when your audience is a group of young kids, you better be ready for anything. :) I like it, though, because they're so honest. There's no filter...they just really want the answer to their question.
The Pastor of St. Vincent de Paul School in Wheeling, WV gave a class $10 with the obligation that they must choose a worthy beneficiary for it. One of the students recommended giving the money to The B+ Foundation. He must have been pretty persuasive as the sixth graders agreed with his recommendation. They raised more money and sent us $60. What's so special about this to me is not the money itself, although that's tremendously appreciated, but that this sixth grade boy helped spread the B+ message -- both about childhood cancer and what it means to B+ and Live Like Andrew.
B+ Hero Celebrates Last Round of Chemo
Congratulations to B+ Hero, Colin Tjaden, for completing his last round of chemotherapy on Friday. Also, Gabby, a B+ Hero from NYU just learned last week that her cancer is in remission. She is now 6 months cancer free! Let's celebrate every success!
Run for The Kids
Our B+ Running Team website is now "live" and we are accepting registrations for our team in the Delaware Marathon/Half Marathon. Last year, we had 26 participants and we're looking to field a bigger team this year. It doesn't matter if you're a seasoned runner or you've never run before... Join us!!! For the Delaware Marathon (May 11, 2014), we provide:
personal running coach
registration
medal
team meal the night before the race
team running shirt
the satisfaction of knowing that you've accomplished two big goals -- running a marathon/half marathon and helping cure childhood cancer
for those from out-of-town, The B+ Foundation also picks up the cost of travel and lodging
All we ask you to do is raise $2,000 in donations ($2,600 if you need travel/lodging). This is much less than most groups ask for. It's easy to raise the money. We can even help you with proven methods from past team members.PLEASE give this some thought and think about who you could pass this on to. Thanks.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.beposfdn.org/demarathon14/index.aspx
B+ Scarves SOLD OUT!
Thank you to Tish Pelly and her family for taking the lead and literally selling all of our remaining B+ scarves.
Make it a great week.
B+
Ali & Andrew's Dad