Parties, Dances, and Nathan!
The B+ Junior Board New Year's Eve Party
What a way to ring in 2017! The B+ Jr. Board held their inaugural New Year's Eve party at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts on the Riverfront in Wilmington. There were about 150 people in attendance of all ages. Fireworks could be seen over the Christina River and video tributes to the kids came in from Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), and newly-elected Gov. John Carney. How can you not love a party that included giveaways of B+ bow ties, an ice cream sundae bar, a regular bar :), and 3 B+ Heroes in attendance. GREAT job B+ Jr. Board!!! (Hint, hint...this could work in any community across the country..or world!)
B+ Events
Other great events that have happened in the past few weeks to help us fight childhood cancer include the elite, national girls high school basketball tournament, the Diamond State Classic, Archbishop Spalding High School fundraiser in Severn, MD, and the Conrad School of Science (DE) dinner last Sunday.
With the holidays behind us, college & high school students across the country are hard at work on their Spring Semester B+ fundraisers. Coming up soon, among others, will be Villanova, Fordham, Chapman and TCNJ's dance marathons, events at the Univ. of Texas, Charter School, and the mothership of all events benefiting The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, UDance!!! Would you believe that there was an event benefiting The B+ Foundation at 87 campuses across the country last year!
I've had a few inquiries about when the Wilmington Winter Classic (Wilmington Fire Dept. vs Wilmington Police Dept) ice hockey game will be held. Yes, it's usually held the first weekend in January, but this year's game has been pushed back a bit as the WFD, and our community, grieves the loss of 3 brave Wilmington firefighters.
2016 Re-Cap
In 2016, you - The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation - helped 2,200 families of a child with cancer pay their bills while their precious child is fighting for his or her life. These families came to us from over 200 hospitals and referring organizations in all 50 states. I don't know of another charity that has helped more families in the United States! You are making such a difference.
You also made it possible for us to award 14 research grants to find cures and gentler treatments for childhood cancer. Obviously, no child should get cancer, but if they do, it's totally unacceptable that nearly 3/4 of the kids who survive cancer will have chronic side effects for life. We've got to do better.
Your Foundation gave out MILLIONS of dollars last year to help families of kids with cancer and fund cutting-edge CHILDHOOD CANCER research. And, we are proud to report that $0.95 of each dollar goes to the mission. You don't get much more efficient than that. Thank you!
B+ Hero Feature
All of our B+ Heroes are special, but today, I would like to ask for your prayers and support of B+ Hero, Nathan. Nathan is a 15 year old boy who was diagnosed about 6 years ago with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and has battled through 2 rounds of it. Because of his treatment (yes, you read that right), he now is facing a new battle - MDS. MDS is a pre-leukemic condition. Nathan will need chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant to kill off the bad cells, basically. You can follow Nathan's Story via his Mom's updates on the Facebook page "Nathans Story". Nathan is a really great kid. I visited with him on Sunday at the hospital and he always cracks me up. He's got a great attitude and a great family support system, but he could certainly use your prayers. Here's a picture of Nathan from a few years back when Ali invited him to be her guest on the red carpet when she was honored as a NASCAR Humanitarian of the Year Finalist.
Make it a great weekend.
LIVE LIKE ANDREW!!!
B+
Ali & Andrew's Dad