Art Programs Growing
Our hero families are discovering their artistic talents through art programs organized by Connor’s Heroes. Along with our Heroes Art Sessions, our families can look forward to a year full of art created from the heart!
A spirited group of hero moms spent an evening in the studio with artist Nancy Jacey at Jacey Gallery. Nancy is well known for her large-scale paintings. She guided the hero moms on how to paint a beautiful sunflower over a blue background. The moms see each other clinic, but rarely have time to connect. The painting session gave them a few precious hours together to unwind. Nancy said, “When the moms finished painting, they shared their stories. It was very emotional and therapeutic for all.” Nancy has been an artist mentor with Connor’s Heroes for many of our Heroes Art Ball. Our Hero Artists were: Lovena Thore, Shelley Johnston, Valerie Brown, Juliet Seymour, and Jacqueline Guzman
You can see Nancy’s work on her website: https://www.nancyjacey.com/
“We absolutely loved this class! We would do this again in a heartbeat!” — Jen, mom to Hero Cooper. Cooper, Zuri, Persephone, and Anna took part in a clay class through the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. For some kids, the class was their first time working with clay and a pottery wheel. The Visual Arts Center is a great space for creativity and expression. They also host our Heroes Art Sessions every month. We are so lucky to have Visual Arts Center as a partner. Their schedule of classes is on their website: https://www.visarts.org/
Creating art can help a hero family make sense of the feelings they experience during treatment and build a friendship with other hero families.
“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” — Salvador Dali
Teens' Hospital Rooms Decorated
Two teenage childhood cancer heroes started a lengthy stay on the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit (BMT). When our Program Director, Erin, learned they were being admitted, she and Anne-Randolph sprung into action. They put out an all-call to our team of BMT volunteers. Just like a real superhero, the volunteers answered our call and arrived in the nick of time to help! Look how the teams of volunteers decorated the hospital rooms for Edwin and Kayleigh. Each room captured the spirited personalities of these teen heroes.
Allez Paris Saint-Germain!
Edwin told Erin he was a big fan of soccer. His favorite team is Paris Saint-Germain. Connor’s Heroes Board member Tom Voekler and his wife, Jill, volunteered to make Edwin’s room feel special. Jill and Tom are a passionate soccer family. They knew exactly what a soccer fan would love. They decorated Edwin’s hospital room with posters, lights, and a team flag.
You Go Girl
19-year-old Kayleigh entered her hospital room to find it decorated with inspiring posters reading “You Go Girl” and “You Can. You Will!” On her bed were arts, crafts, and games. Leave it to Ellen, a skilled BMT room decorator, to find the perfect decorations for Kayleigh’s room.
Do you like to give back to your community by volunteering? Do you enjoy shopping? Do you enjoy decorating? Do you want to put a smile on a hospitalized child’s face? You may be the perfect volunteer for Connor’s Heroes room decorator team. Connor’s Heroes will give you a list of the patient’s likes and interests. You will receive a budget so you can shop around for the perfect decor. Connor’s Heroes will reimburse you for your purchases.
Fill out a volunteer application: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/volunteer_CHF
February Heroes Art Session
Our February Heroes Art Session was extra special. We kicked off our creative sessions for the 11th Annual Heroes Art Ball. Over the next few months, childhood cancer heroes and their siblings will create beautiful pieces of art. Working side by side with them will be incredibly talented hometown artists. The final pieces will be up for auction at the 11th Annual Heroes Art Ball. You can place the winning bid for this one-of-the-kind art. The Heroes Art Ball is on Friday, May 6, at the The John Marshall Ballrooms downtown Richmond. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, March 1.
Due to COVID restrictions, we kept this Heroes Art Session small. Five hero families, who will be our VIP hero families at the Heroes Art Ball, joined us for this special afternoon. The kids created with clay, watercolors, paint, and even had a chance to use a sewing machine! We can’t wait to introduce you to Ava, Dayanne, Joshua, Kennedy, and Sydney at The Heroes Art Ball on May 6. Thank you to our wonderful Hero Artist Leaders who shared their time and talent with the kids!
Our Heroes Art Sessions provide a supportive environment in which childhood cancer heroes and their siblings can make art, and build community with other hero families. At the sessions, they feel a collective sense of healing simply by creating and being together. We are grateful to The Visual Arts Center of Richmond for giving us the space for an open studio. And to our donors who allow the Heroes Art Sessions to happen at no cost to our families.
Childhood Cancer Heroes: Ava, Dayanne, Joshua, Kennedy, and Sydney
Hero Artist Leaders & Volunteers: Monica Wilmore, Frankie Slaughter, Susan Rash, Nico Cathcart, Jennike Duignam, Sarah Cross
If you are interested in sharing your talents by volunteering as a hero artist leader, fill out our online volunteer application posted on our website: www.connorsheroes.org/ways-to-give/
If you can not volunteer your time, you can support the monthly heroes art sessions and other programs offered to childhood cancer heroes by making a donation online: www.connorsheroes.org/ways-to-give/
You will meet some of the childhood cancer heroes shown here when you come to the gala. They will be our guests of honor at the 11th Annual Heroes Art Ball in May 2022!
A grateful family makes historic gift to Connor’s Heroes
A grateful family makes historic gift to Connor’s Heroes
A Richmond family, grateful for the support Connor’s Heroes gave their teenage daughter throughout her cancer treatment, made a $500,000 commitment to Connor’s Heroes. It is the largest gift in Connor’s Heroes history. The family, who wish to remain anonymous, made this gift as Connor’s Heroes plans for the opening of the new inpatient children’s hospital.
“They made this donation with a simple request: continue to give families hope, guidance, and support” said Celia Tetlow Martin, Executive Director of Connor’s Heroes. “Their generosity will provide our childhood cancer families with new experiences, resources and support options throughout the course of their treatment and beyond. This gift has already transformed how we care for a child with cancer.”
The gift will support the Unique Needs Fund. Connor’s Heroes piloted the program in 2021. The fund will help families with unexpected expenses for extended stays in the hospital or Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit, or traveling outside of Central Virginia for second opinions, clinical trials or treatment.
The relationship the family developed with Erin Gardner, Connor’s Heroes Program Director, influenced their decision to support Connor’s Heroes.
The mother said,
“Erin showed my daughter incredible kindness and empathy. It was clear from the moment we first met, she is dedicated to helping families who are in the worst place. So many people do not know how to be there for a family in crisis. Erin and Connor’s Heroes knew exactly what my family needed.”
Connor’s Heroes also will fund a Child Life Specialist (CLS) at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR). Meredith Burns, MS, CCLS, is a Certified Child Life Specialist with CHoR. At the end of February, she will focus on the pediatric hematology and oncology patients when they are admitted to CHoR. She will help coordinate a family’s care with the Connor’s Heroes Program Team, made up of Erin and Anne-Randolph Carter.
The donation comes as Connor’s Heroes successfully completed its capital campaign, Rooms Filled With Hope. The campaign raised funds for five rooms on the new pediatric hematology and oncology floor of The Wonder Tower at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. Part of the gift will go towards designing the rooms as safe spaces for arts projects, consultations with doctors, meals, playful activities, and meeting with Connor’s Heroes Program Team.
For the past three years, the number of families who registered with Connor’s Heroes has increased. Connor’s Heroes increased the amount of financial support a family receives every year of their child’s treatment.
“Connor’s Heroes was named in honor of the circle of heroes who helped Connor Goodwin during his treatment. Thanks to all the people who donated, our community of heroes grew. We are at this historic moment together,” said Celia. “This is a transformational gift. But so is every gift. Every donor can transform the care of a child with cancer.”
Announcing A New Child Life Specialist
Connor’s Heroes Welcomes New Child Life Specialist
When you receive an email from Meredith Burns, MS, CCLS, she closes it with this wonderful quote from Dr. Seuss: “Don’t give up. I believe in you all. A person’s a person no matter how small.”
Meredith understands the anxiety a family feels when their child is diagnosed with a difficult illness. She is a Certified Child Life Specialist (CLS) with Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR). Ask any hero parent, they will tell you how Child Life is an essential member of their child’s care team.
Connor’s Heroes is happy to announce, at the end of February 2022, Meredith will be a part of the Connor’s Heroes team. She will focus on the pediatric hematology and oncology patients when they are admitted to CHoR.
Having a CHoR CLS for pediatric hematology and oncology patients is very much needed. Especially when Connor’s Heroes opens the five Rooms Filled With Hope in The Wonder Tower. The Wonder Tower, a consolidated, state-of-the-art inpatient children’s hospital hopes to open in 2023.
Connor’s Heroes Board Member, Marisa Cherry, is excited to have a CLS for our hero families. Marisa and Steve’s daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2013.
“I spent countless weeks in the hospital with my daughter doing the best I could to explain the unexplainable, keep her spirits positive, and to comfort her through pain. It was terrifying and exhausting,” said Marisa. “Soon, Connor’s Heroes will open five Rooms Filled With Hope in the amazing Wonder Tower. Together the CLS and the Connor’s Heroes Rooms will give our families dedicated, safe spaces beyond the four walls of their rooms. CLS will help parents by talking in kid-friendly terms about procedures, providing necessities at just the right time, offering diversions like art therapy, and celebrating treatment milestones.”
Meredith explains how the team of Child Life Specialist at CHoR help pediatric patients. She talks about how she can ease a child’s fears and decrease a family’s stress when they are in the hospital.
How does a Child Life Specialist (CLS) help a family?
I like to say it is my job to bring the hospital world down to a patient’s level (of understanding). A CLS has a background in child development and a specialty in how that development can be impacted by hospitalization. We help patients and families cope, in a developmentally appropriate way, with their hospital experience. Not every experience is going to be fun, but as a CLS, I hope to make the experience less overwhelming and traumatizing for everyone involved.
A child often is in cancer treatment for years. How will a CLS help a family at diagnosis and throughout treatment?
I try to build my relationship with a patient during the testing process to learn what the exact diagnosis is. It is important to create positive coping techniques that can last through treatment. Upon receiving a diagnosis, I can help the patient better understand their diagnosis. CLS can prepare patients for procedures, use medical play to teach about new support devices they may need (gastrostomy tubes, central lines, ports, etc.), and distract them during painful procedures (IV starts, dressing changes). Also, CLS can assist caregivers on how to explain the diagnosis to siblings and facilitate ways to continue the sibling bond while the patient is in the hospital.
Throughout treatment, CLS can be there to provide emotional support on hard days, as well as provide opportunities for play and fun. I believe patients need to feel like children, even though they are in the hospital.
A crucial role of child life is to assess patients and families where they are at that moment and be respectful of their wish for alone time. Child life can be a friendly face who patients and families see if they need multiple admissions.
Connor’s Heroes mission is to provide hope, guidance, and support to a child with cancer and their family. How will you support Connor’s Heroes mission?
I can be a support system within the hospital to help patients and families navigate their cancer journey. I provide patients with the foundation for understanding their diagnosis and encouraging each patient to advocate for their needs. I want to instill hope in the patient and their family that they have it within themselves to make it through and that they are not alone in this journey.
Outside of the hospital, how do you spend your free time?
I enjoy watching movies, being with family, and going to sporting events. I also love to spend time with my dog Slider and taking him to the park. I really like to travel and learn about history all over the world. Over the summer, I took Slider on walking tours around Richmond through a great program called History Hounds Tours.
Erin Gardner, Program Director, and Anne-Randolph Carter, Program Coordinator, are excited to have Meredith a part of the Connor’s Heroes team.
Almost every week a child in Central Virginia is diagnosed with cancer. Connor’s Heroes gives a family financial assistance and emotional support throughout a child’s cancer journey. Connor’s Heroes starts with a Heroes Bag and Backpack. Inside, a child will find an iPad, crafts, toys, and games. A parent will receive the first (of many) gift cards. While their child is in treatment, the family will get gift cards for gas and groceries, a house cleaning, meal delivery, or a special treat for a birthday or holiday.
Thank you to our community of heroes who made it possible for our childhood cancer families to have a CLS in the pediatric hospital.
Jamie Hess Funds Clinical Trials
We love when Massey Cancer drops us their annual stewardship report. In their 2021 report, they broke down how The Jamie Hess Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Fund advanced cancer research and clinical trials for pediatric bone marrow transplant and other cellular immunotherapy transplant patients. We were excited to see trials with the National Marrow Donor Program registry and related to COVID. Local oncologists and researchers can do these trials because of donations you made to the Jamie Hess Fund.
Jamie Hess’ parents established the fund after Jamie died from leukemia in 2002. The Hess family partnered with Connor’s Heroes in 2007. Pediatric patients isolated on the adult BMT Unit received comfort and support for their unique situations.
When the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU opens its state-of-the-art inpatient facility in 2023, pediatric BMT patients will FINALLY be treated with other pediatric patients. Medical staff will prepare transplant supplies on site in a space lovingly named The Jamie Hess Bone Marrow Transplant Lab. The Hess Lab is one of five rooms where Connor’s Heroes can be there with a family when they are treated in the new Wonder Tower.
Transforming A Child's Hospital Room
December ended with a flurry — a flurry of activity on the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. Erin, our Program Director, received notice that THREE childhood cancer patients would spend the holiday on the BMT Unit. Most stay on the unit for a month or more.
The BMT Unit is an adult unit with pediatric patients. Being in this adult unit can be a lonely experience for a family who hunkers down in the hospital room. Connor’s Heroes is one of a handful of nonprofits who is allowed on the BMT unit when doctors admit a pediatric patient.
When Erin learns a hero child is about to be admitted, she contacts a team of volunteers. They have the fun assignment of decorating the hospital room! Your donations allow them to shop for decorations, bedding, decor, and activities picked for that child. Because every child is different. They decorate every room differently.
You can see for yourself. Scroll through pictures of three rooms decorated for three hero patients: Alejandra (14 yrs old), Caleb (16 yrs old), and Isaiah (10 yrs old). You can see who loves Spiderman, Christmas, and music. We have to thank Juliana Martinez, Ellen Purcell and Martia Jones for taking time during the holidays to be on the unit decorating these rooms.
The good news is the care and comfort of a child admitted on the BMT Unit will change when the Wonder Tower opens in 2023.
Pediatric oncologists, care staff, nurses, researchers, and child life specialists finally will be together on the hematology and oncology floor, including pediatric BMT patients.
Connor’s Heroes will be there with them.
We will open five spaces in the new inpatient children’s hospital. The Connor’s Heroes BMT Play Room will be a fun multi-purpose space designed with the health needs of the BMT patient in mind. In The Jamie Hess Bone Marrow Transplant Lab, staff will prepare transplant supplies without having to leave the unit. This will maximize efficiency and quality of a child’s bone marrow transplant. We named the lab after Jamie Hess, who died from leukemia in 2002.
Learn more about Connor’s Heroes Rooms Filled With Hope on our website: www.connorsheroes.org/rooms-filled-with-hope/
Today's Helping Hero: Dewberry
Today's Helping Hero is Virginia-based planning and construction design firm, Dewberry. Their Richmond office didn't want the holiday season to go by without giving back to their community. The office held a drive for our Heroes Bag and Backpacks. They collected toys and games for our heroes aged toddlers to teens. Drew Stahling, Staff Engineer, worked with our program coordinator, Anne-Randolph. She clued him in on the best items to give our childhood cancer heroes. Anne-Randolph said:
"Connor's Heroes has been fortunate to work with many Richmond-area businesses who care about children as much as they do about their customers. When December rolled around, supplies for our Heroes Bags and Backpacks were low as we gave out close to 60 this year. Thanks to Dewberry, we are ready for the new year. We're restocked for this year's heroes!"
A new year means a new child diagnosed with cancer. A Connor's Heroes Parent Totebag and Backpack is a lifeline to a family who just learned their child has cancer. If you work for a company who, like Dewberry, appreciates giving back to your community, you too can host a Heroes Bag and Backpack supply drive. Anne-Randolph is happy to help you. You can find Anne-Randolph's contact information on our website at: www.connorsheroes.org/about-us/#our-staff
