A Day In Treatment
Callen's mom told me about the photographer who spent a day in the hospital with her and Callen. Kristin Seward has beautiful, black and white photos of Callen and his mom at a difficult time of his journey. Callen has a terrible infection that has put him in isolation for four months and counting. Until he gets good counts, he can only be in his house or in a small, private room at the hospital. Other than family, he has no visitors. This is the face of childhood cancer. Kristin shares these intimate moments through her hashtag #lensofhope. Looking at these beautiful photos, you can feel the power of this family's love.
If you're on Facebook, check out Kristin's photo journal of Callen and his family. On her photo blog, you can see more of our heroes in the Race For The Cure.
Meet the Programs Committee!
Say hello to the volunteers of Connor's Heroes Programs Committee. We are grateful that they are taking time out of their busy lives to develop activities and improve the services for the families who are battling childhood cancer. Here's who's in our photo from left to right:
*Lisa, mom of Connor & co-founder of Connor's Heroes
*Fran, our program director
*Kelly, mom of Savanna, the sweet girl who received a bone marrow transplant donated by her older brother
*Kim, mom of Campbell who's been featured in billboards for the Children's Hospital
*Briddy, mom of and one of many supporting Peirsen & his Soldier P Battalion!
*Kelly, an OBGYN who is also mom to Callen who's in treatment for leukemia
*Chrissy, mom of Grace who just completed her treatment
*Tammy, mom of Emily, an aspiring artist who beat her brain tumor
*Celia, Board Member & head Hero!
Not pictured is Katie and Faith's mom, Carolyn, and Marisa, our fearless leader and board member who is helping Lauren through her brain tumor recurrence.
If you would like to learn more on how you can volunteer for Connor's Heroes behind the scenes, you can email lisa@connorsheroes.org.
Happy Birthday!
Every time I look at this card, I smile. Not just because the photo of the two kids is so darn cute. It's because the family asked all the guests to donate items or gift cards for our Heroes Bags and Backpacks. I want to thank the Bliley family for turning their children's birthday party into a GIVING party for our hero kids. You can too. It’s easy. Erin posted on our website a wishlist of items we always need to fill our Heroes Bags and Backpacks. You can print the list or copy it into your smartphone. Most items you can find as your waiting at the checkout line. Then mail them to Connor’s Heroes at P.O. Box 2536, Midlothian VA 23113.
Happy birthday to our heroes, Zi'Yonna, Adriyanna and Aiden, who celebrate birthdays this month.
Thank you to: Capital One (again!!)
David from Capital One delivered the coolest thing... coloring books for adults! It is full of beautiful patterns and activities that a parent can do while sitting in the hospital with his/her child. It's perfect for our teenage patients, too. But that’s not all David and his fellow employees at Capital One did to help Connor’s Heroes. They spent an evening filling bags for the dozens of patients expected to be admitted to the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in the next months. I'm impressed with the care and concern they've shown. They want to make sure our hero families do not feel alone. If your company is looking for a service project or wants to give a corporate gift to Connor's Heroes, call Lisa at (804) 897-1272.
Inspired by SundayFunday
Our families had another Sunday Funday w/ our great group of young professionals. For the first time, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond hosted our craft session. Wow! What an amazing space. As you can see from the photos, our heroes were inspired! Savanna is planning to take a class on fashion arts. Faith, sister of our hero Katie, loved all the arts and craft supplies. Our volunteers had just as much funn, too. Connor's Heroes works with the gallery to make sure the space is safe for our Hero kids. Many have compromised immune systems. A few are in wheelchairs. The pay off is worth it. Look at these smiles!
If you're a young professional, share your email so you can enjoy our next SundayFunday!
Thank You to: BB&T Insurance
In June our heroes had a fun-filled night at the Diamond w/ the Flying Squirrels. This is an event we look forward to every summer. All our heroes were invited on the field with Savanna throwing out the first pitch. Thanks to BB&T Insurance for sponsoring this night. They provided tickets for our 28 kids and families and a stack of Acorn Bucks to spend at the concession stands. For our families, going out in public is a big deal. Many of our kids have compromised immune systems from the rounds of treatment. Or they get tired easily from their bodies' constant fight against cancer. Connor's Heroes understands all that's involved because Lisa dealt with these issues when Connor was in treatment. If your company, church or service group would like to sponsor an outing, please call our office at 804 897-1272 or email lisa@connorsheroes.org
Thank you to: Capital One
If your company is looking for a summer service project, follow the example of Capital One. Their local rep called Erin asking if there was a project for their employees. As luck would have it, Erin needed Heroes Bags and Parent Bags for our bone marrow transplant families. Erin sent Capital One a list of the specific items. They bought everything and assembled the bags. They even wrote encouraging notes for the kids. Thanks to Capital One's day-long service project, Erin has all the bags she needs for the dozens of Heroes who will be admitted for bone marrow transplants this year. When a child goes to the transplant unit for the first time, he/she will find a decorated hospital room and this bag sitting on the bed. This is how Connor's Heroes supports our families. See our website for all the ways your company can be a hero.
Thank You to: Northwestern Mutual
Thank you to the group of volunteers from the Richmond office of Northwestern Mutual. They spent a Saturday doing yard work for two of our hero families. One family has had their daughter in the ICU for nearly two months and the other family has a five-month old baby who has been battling cancer since she was three weeks old. With their children in treatment, yardwork is not a priority. That's where Connor's Heroes comes in. We offer the parents help so they don't have to ask. Seeing the smiles on these volunteers shows how worthwhile it is to help the families who are facing the battle against childhood cancer.
If your company is looking for a service project, contact Erin at (804) 897-1272.
A birthday party became a giving party
Many of you met Savanna at this year's Heroes Art Ball. She's come a long way since her diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). It was with great joy that she celebrated her 10th birthday. Instead of asking for presents for herself, she asked for items to put in our Heroes Bags and Backpacks. I asked Savanna what she enjoyed most in her Heroes Bag when she started treatment. She said she loved the book Tom Sawyer. I can see how beautiful passages like the following would take a child away from the boredom of the hospital and into Tom's carefree world:
You can turn your next birthday party into a giving party just like Savanna did. Our website has a wishlist of items we need for our Heroes Bags and Backpacks. Download the list or donate $10 to Connor's Heroes using our secure donation site.
Thank Notes for Connor’s Heroes!
How nice to go to our post office box and find two handwritten notes. The Primrose School in Midlothian mailed us a check for $1000 raised from their Spring Fling. They gave in honor of their student, Lauren. Lauren was treated in the bone marrow transplant unit. Now, she is looking forward to starting kindergarten in the fall. The second note was totally unexpected. It was from a former patient, Tyler. He thanked us for his birthday card. You may not have known that Connor's Heroes mails birthday cards to our hero patients - past and present. Why not give $25 so we can buy cards and postage for the birthdays next month?
