Mon. May 28th
Thank You!
While we are SO proud of Ali, it was still a bittersweet couple of days. Ali surprised us by showing us a picture of Andrew that she had pinned inside her gown. She said that Andrew “walked” with her at Convocation and Graduation. NOTHING will ever break their bond!
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Car Giveaway
Last Thursday, we had the privilege of playing a small part in a really kind gesture. Paul Campanella, of Campanella’s Auto & Tire Center, bought a used car, fixed it up bigtime, and told me that he wanted to donate it to a family of a child with cancer. Along with help from Aaron Dunphy (LowDigitTags.com) who handled the paperwork of titling it, Claudia Van Lenten from A.I. duPont Hospital, and your Foundation who covered the insurance, Paul handed over the keys to Hernando and his family. Hernando and his family travel 2 hours to the hospital for treatment of his leukemia and their previous car was not very reliable. Thanks to a team effort, they have one less thing to worry about. Thanks, Paul!!! (By the way, Paul was recently named “Humanitarian of the Year” from among the 1,400 members of his trade association! Congratulations.)
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Run/Walk to Fight Childhood Cancers
There’s no reason why we can’t get 100% participation for our 6th Annual B+ Fighting Childhood Cancer 5k Run/Walk. Whether you join us as a runner, walker, or donate to one of the many teams (including Ali’s team – “Andrew’s Angels”), we need your support. It doesn’t matter where you live. Please help today.
https://www.elleevance.com/5K2012/EventLandingPage.aspx
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FC Delco Players Cup
Today, we had the privilege of presenting, for the 5th time, the “Andrew McDonough Cup” at the FC Delco Players Cup soccer tournament in Downingtown, PA. Before Andrew went to Heaven, the Cup was named after a professional soccer player from PA. Now, it’s Andrew’s Cup! Chris, Ali, and I watched a great game that came down to a penalty kick shoot-out with Sunrise of Florida defeating Lehigh Valley of PA. Thank you, YSC, USTC, FC Delco, and Joe Levan for keeping Andrew’s memory alive.
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Memorial Day
Saving the most important item for last today, we honor those brave Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us — their life. I know the heartache of losing a child from this world, but I do NOT know what it’s like to lose a child or loved one in war. Two stories that I would like to share with you:
A family that has been great supporters of The B+ Foundation is the Loncki Family of New Castle, DE. While some of you may have read this before, it bears repeating. Elizabeth “Liz” Loncki graduated from Padua Academy in Wilmington in 2001, briefly attended the University of Arizona, and enlisted in the US Air Force in March, 2003. Twenty days before she was to return home from her deployment in Iraq, she and two fellow soldiers were targeted by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. Senior Airman Loncki, and her two fellow soldiers, were killed in action on January 7, 2007 in a town outside of Baghdad, Iraq.
I will never forget my Mother telling the story of her cousin. On his first parachute jump into enemy lines in World War II, he was mortally wounded. He was the first of “the boys” (as my Mother would always called the soldiers) to be brought home in a casket to their town in Carbondale, PA. She re-counted how, in the middle of the night, the townspeople lined the streets of their town as my mother and her family rode in an procession escorting her cousin’s body from Scranton to Carbondale.
May God bless the families of Liz Loncki and all of the soldiers who gave their lives in service to our country. May we never forget their sacrifice!
B+
Live Like Andrew
Ali & Andrew’s Dad