January 2024 Newsletter
C.U.R.E. is here.
From the day of diagnosis, throughout treatment and beyond:
The support doesn’t stop when the treatment stops.
And we are so thankful for our Friends who make our support possible.
Hoping your season was merry & bright.
Best wishes for a wonderful 2024!
From the C.U.R.E. Staff
Join our Team!
We are looking for interested candidates to join our C.U.R.E. Staff! The Part-Time Parent Advocate position would be working with our current Parent Advocate, Michelle, to ensure our Families are connected to resources and are supported. The position must be filled by the parent of a Long-Term Survivor.
Interested in applying?
Please send your cover letter and resume to Holly. Click the button below to email your documents!
Spotlight on: Ellie
Meet our Friend, Ellie.
Ellie is 2 years old and was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Hepatoblastoma (liver cancer). She is a little spitfire who loves to play with her big brother Lucas! She enjoys dancing, crafts, and baby animals. Her favorite book is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
C.U.R.E.’s Family Holiday Party
So many smiling faces from C.U.R.E. Kiddos and their Families and our dedicated Volunteers.
Even the Reindeer were smiling to see our Families having so much fun!
We are so happy to be able to provide such a fun evening with LOTS of activities. This year, we had: pillowcases to decorate, snowman and dreidel crafts, stuffed animals, Hype Booth with instant pictures to take home, slime, winter hats (provided by Hatsgiving), stockings filled with goodies, a gift for EVERY child (with special thanks to Priate Toy Fund and CURE Bears for Hope and Love), SANTA, magic light up wands, a FREE visit to the Holiday Lights at Victor Hills, gingerbread crafts and book, gingerbread houses provided by Camp Good Days, Reindeer food, paddle and coloring page, Arlene’s Airbrush Tattoos, elf trap craft kit, games and puzzles for every Family, reindeer balloon race STEM activity, selfie station with super cool holiday hats and headbands and glasses (and who can forget the dancing Gingerbread Man?!), shrinky dink random act of kindness activity and an Italian dinner for the Families to take home. We had live Reindeer (courtesy of the Shortsville Reindeer Farm), the Dainty Donut truck, tons of decorations, and live music, plus another Gingerbread Friend outside, too! We could not do this event without the help of so many people. LOTS of people helped in the preparation and set up and the day of the event.
A huge thank you to:
- Sam and Anita Manuele for their many hours of preparation
- All of the volunteers who came to help prepare the crafts
- Lynne and Randy Stiefler for the toys, Santa pictures and live music
- Inga Mucha Photography for the many wonderful pictures
- Wegman’s on Hyland Drive provided a discount on their salads
- Leo’s Bakery discounted their bread for our Families
Many thanks also go out to: Guglielmo’s sauce, Barilla Pasta and Sauce and Monroe County Parks Department! The staff at C.U.R.E. would like to thank everyone who helped in some way no matter how big or small - it truly takes a Village. Thank you!!!
C.U.R.E. Parents/Caregivers join us for a January Parents’ Night Out
Join us at Comedy at the Carlson featuring David Nihill who is back with his new show, Shelf Help. Leaving Dublin, Ireland where he was born and raised until the age of 22, David got drunk on travel and never quite hit sobriety of it. He has lived and worked in twelve countries and visited over seventy. His shows draw on his wide travels, cultural observations, attempts at language study, (occasional) international drinking session(s) and being a mildly confused immigrant. RSVP is required.
Look for information in Weekly C.U.R.E. Family Program email and in the Closed Parent to Parent Facebook Group to sign up .
Attention: C.U.R.E. Grandparents
This is For You!
Calling all C.U.R.E. Grandparents - We want to connect you to each other! Please join us on Wednesday, January 24th at 10:30 a.m. at the Panera Bread at 12 Twelve Corners Brighton, 1902 Monroe Avenue.
C.U.R.E. Parents look for information in the Parent Group and Program email on how to help add them to their own special email list!
Hey, C.U.R.E. Parents:
Did you know we have a private Facebook Group JUST for you? Connect with other parents. Ask questions about treatment, education help and more. Learn from others.
Contact us to learn more!
Resources:
Childhood Cancer Survivor Scholarship and Employment Resources:
Children's Cancer Cause is assisting childhood cancer patients, survivors and families by centralizing most national resources that provide scholarships for survivors of childhood cancer or those with particular effects. The site also has resources and advice relating to employment and applying for these scholarships.
Some opportunities require commitment to a childhood cancer advocacy project while in college, while others make you eligible for you just being you. But you do need to apply! Be sure to read the instructions and qualifications very carefully. Apply in plenty of time to get feedback from family, guidance counselors and others. Board Member, Jacob Adams, would be happy to help if given at least two weeks’ notice. Please contact the office for his e-mail address.
YOU can help C.U.R.E. for FREE
Follow us on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/curekidscancerrochester
Instagram: @curekidscancer_
Twitter: @curekidscancer_
TikTok: @curekidscancer_Write a review about C.U.R.E. on our Facebook Page or on Google.
Write a blog that can be shared on our website.
Contact our Parent Advocate Michelle about doing an Instagram Takeover.
“Like”, Share or Comment on our social media posts.
Stay tuned…
The Jeffrey Charles Sewell Memorial Scholarship will be accepting applications in February. This is a $2,000 scholarship granted to a Childhood Cancer Survivor. A committee made up of the Sewell Family reviews every application essay and determines the winner(s) of the scholarship. Last year, the scholarship was received by Fiona and Sara.
Stay tuned for more information and start planning your essay now!
Attention Campers, the wait is over!
The dates for Camp Good Days’ Summer 2024 programs are here! While registration isn't open yet, you can find out more information on their website!
Conquer Cancer in Kids:
make childhood cancer research a priority:
UPDATE: THE PETITION IS JUST SHY OF BEING ONE OF THE MOST SIGNED PETITIONS ON CHANGE.ORG. THE GOAL IS 15,016 SIGNATURES AND AS OF 10/31/2023, THERE ARE 15,010 SIGNATURES!
We invite our families and supporters to join CNN’s Rene Marsh as she advocates to make childhood cancer research a priority! Sadly, Rene lost her two year old son, Blake, to brain cancer in April 2021. She is now working with CNN and childhood cancer awareness advocates to make a difference!
To review and sign the petition, click the button below.
Petition to the Biden Administration to increase funding for childhood cancer research. This effort was started through awareness from The Ellen Show.
81,014 signatures of 150,000 wanted (as of 10/31/2023)
GRYT Health connects patients and caregivers to others with shared experience and to information relevant to their journey.
Through the GRYT app, we’ve created a platform for people affected by cancer to connect to others with similar experiences, and to tailored information that helps our users become more aware of options specific to their needs or diagnosis – empowering them to make choices that are right for them.
Our community of patients, survivors, medical professionals, researchers and advocates across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 100 countries worldwide have participated in almost 1,000,000 interactions to date, inspiring people to live according to their own standards.
Trust from our community is paramount to our success and something we take very seriously. We never share any of our users’ information without their explicit permission. Unlike other apps, GRYT is the first social community that is funded, built, and run by patients and caregivers where users communicate anonymously in real-time and each person is 100% in charge of what happens with their data.
Learn more about Bill A6430B
Creates the Sickle Cell Disease detection and education program
Sponsored by Hyndman
Cancer for College has provided need-based scholarships to cancer survivors since 1993.
The scholarship application period is November 1 – January 31 each year. Starting November 1, 2023, they’re accepting applications for the 2024-’25 school year.
To learn more, please click the link below or contact CFC at applications@cancerforcollege.org.
Our Staff and Volunteers are the best!
Thank you for the Holiday Donations!
We are so appreciative of all of the donations made throughout December! From toys to wrapping paper to gift cards - these all made such a difference for our Families and helped make their holidays extra special!
We’d especially like to thank Santa’s Workshop (Florence Kinney), IDI Billing Solutions, PICS, Hilton’s Lion Club, Girl Scout Troop 40088, Janssen Key Account Managers & Leadership, Mark Miller, ESL Mortgage Department, RCIPA, Anne Latham and Friends of Jason, Carina Meyer, the Bennett Family, Rachel Hess & Family, and everyone who shopped off of our Amazon Wishlists!
Hearts for Hailey is Amazing!
We are honored to call Hailey and her Crew our Friends! They continue to love on our Families through the Keeping Tabs on Cancer with Hailey program. We were delighted to receive $1,433 recently that was generated at the Attica Rodeo.
Thank you for always keeping our Families in your hearts.
RWG: A Thanksgiving Race to be thankful for!
We are so grateful for our Friends at Rochester Running Co. and Lakeshore Community Church for sponsoring the annual Race With Grace 5K and 10K race. This race is UNIQUE and fantastic because the proceeds from the run are donated to charity! What a meaningful way to spend Thanksgiving morning! The Planning Committee has been hard-at-work all year ensuring every detail of the race was perfect. We are the humble recipients of just over $11,000 from this year’s event! A HUGE thank you to all who helped and all who participated!
Thank you, Blue Toad Hard Cider!
We are so grateful to our Friends at Blue Toad Hard Cider who chose C.U.R.E. to be the recipients of proceeds from their Ring of Fire Cider this year! We are blown away by the support. Working together with their distributor, they generated a total of $1,500!! Thank you so much for thinking of our organization and providing such valuable support to our Families! Cheers to working together in the future.
Annual Dessert Auction Success!
The Networking Referral Group of Rochester hosted their annual Dessert Auction in November! There were plenty of yummy desserts from cookie dough brownies to pies to homemade cookies and cakes! Together they raised $2,090 for our Families!
A special thanks to Neil and Diane for joining us that morning and sharing about their own experience with childhood cancer and C.U.R.E.
Thank you for your ongoing support for C.U.R.E. and dedication to our Families!
Thank you, Shopping For A Cause!
Shopping For A Cause held their 2nd Annual Fall Craft Fair on November 19th benefitting C.U.R.E.! Around 30 local vendors had stations on display with tons of fall and holiday shopping gifts, they also held a bag raffle with over 20 prizes. Altogether they raised just shy of $1,000 for C.U.R.E.! We are so thankful for your support and look forward to next year! A big thanks to Laurie for her tireless commitment to our community.
Julianne’s Journey to Christmas Joy!
Julianne’s Journey was created by Shari Miller who lost her daughter, Julianne, in December of 2010. She carries on her daughter’s legacy through fundraisers and donations that benefit C.U.R.E. This year, they raised over $6,000 and bought a ton of toys off of our Amazon Wishlists and provided gift cards to distribute to our Families.
Thank you for your generosity and keeping Julianne’s spirit alive throughout the season!
Thank you for ‘Wrapping Up’ the Holidays!
A big shout out to all of the volunteers who came in to wrap holiday presents in early December. We are so appreciative of you taking time out of your day to make the holidays a bit more magical for our Families!
Thank you for sharing your wrapping skills with us: Crystal & Alexis Putney, Kathy Merriam, Georgia Woodring, Julia Ippolito, Rachael Smith, Vanessa Stewart, Nikki Zimmermann, Rachael Gootnick, The Property Girls, Jill Pasley, Carol DeRycke, Jean Zarcone, Barbara Rea, Crystal & Skylar Schuech-Zielinski, Mary Gilligan, Annette Dipalma, Sam and Anita Manuele and Dave Uhrmacher.
Hockey Fights Cancer Night for the Win!
The Canandaigua Academy ice hockey team hosted a Hockey Fights Cancer Night, which included a game against the Brighton Bruins at the Canandaigua Civic Center. During the game, the team sold winter beanies, held a 50/50 raffle and raised over $1,500 to benefit C.U.R.E.!
It was not only a great night for the community, but the game ended in a 3-1 victory for CA! Thank you for choosing to support C.U.R.E.!
Thank you, Rotork!
Our Friends at Rotork stopped by in December to drop off LOTS of toys from our Amazon Wishlists! In addition, they also donated a monetary gift for our Families. We are so grateful for their yearly support and making the holidays brighter for our Families! We appreciate you!
LOTS to be thankful for:
Traci Hutter and her Family donated two boxes filled with Dot Dot Smile children’s clothing for our Families. She and her Family have been donating for over 3 years and look forward to stopping by the C.U.R.E. office!
Thank you for your continuous support!
You bet we’re grateful!
We are so grateful for our friends at New York Life Insurance Company for hosting their first Charity Poker Tournament in December to benefit C.U.R.E. Led by Bradley and Wendy Dufrane and Eric Hurley, this fun night of poker playing generated nearly $1,500 for C.U.R.E.! We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with New York Life Insurance Company and appreciate all who joined that night! When you’re playing for charity, everyone is a winner.
Thank you for sharing your talent!
Sue Boldt and Linda Dubois made pillowcases for our kiddos! They created numerous patterns for the kiddos to pick from. We are so grateful that you share your talent with our Families, these pillowcases make their toughest days a bit brighter, thank you!
Thank you for your support!
At their annual holiday luncheon, the Rochester Press-Radio Club presented C.U.R.E. with a grant check of $1,250! C.U.R.E. is among a number of non-profits they support within three areas: Families in Need, Special Needs, and Adaptive Sports.
Thank you for choosing to support C.U.R.E. and our Families!
Please give a hand for our Volunteers of the Month….
Sam & Anita Manuele
While it is always a joy to see Sam & Anita at our office, we were spoiled in November and December as they came in to help us prepare for the Holidays even more! This amazing couple dedicated more than 50 hours to our Families this holiday season. Whether it was stuffing stockings, lovingly selecting gifts or wrapping more gifts than they knew they signed up for, they were an amazing extra two pairs of hands around the office. We ABSOLUTELY could not have made the holidays as special for our Families without them.
Sam & Anita, from the bottoms of our hearts, we are beyond grateful for you.
Join our Board of Directors!
We have some Board positions opening in the very near future! Interested in applying?
The Board meets monthly for 1.5 - 2 hours (Currently the third Wednesday evening of the month from 5:30 - 7:30)
Board members must attend two of the three main fundraisers (5k & Fun Walk, Golf Tournament, Brunch)
Board members are on at least one sub-committee
Board members make a monetary donation for the Board sponsored Live Auction package for the Brunch
Applications can be emailed to:
cureboardapplications@gmail.com
We want to connect!
If you served on the Board of Directors for C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association, we would love to stay connected! Please email Holly Dutcher to connect!
holly.dutcher@curekidscancer.com
Need a lunch idea?
Head on over to Jersey Mike’s from January 10th-14th to grab a bite and support C.U.R.E.!
We are grateful for our partnership with Jersey Mike’s and choosing to support us this month. Show them the image here for a discounted meal and they’ll donate $3 to C.U.R.E. It’s a WIN-WIN Situation!
Please note, this is ONLY valid at the Monroe Ave Location.
We are again offering Super Bowl Squares for C.U.R.E. in 2024! Squares will cost $25 each. Once you make your donation, you will be assigned a random square. When the board of 100 is full, we will use a random number generator to assign numbers to rows and columns.
The winner is decided by looking at the last number in each teams' score and then matching those digits on the grid to see where the squares intersect.
Payout will be as follows:
Winner of the 1st Quarter: $150
Winner at Halftime: $200
Winner of the 3rd Quarter: $150
Final Score Winner: $300
Winners will be notified after the game.
It’s Beanie Szn!
Keep your head warm and your heart full this season with our EXCLUSIVE Love Your Melon + C.U.R.E. Beanies. One beanie is given to a child battling or who has battled cancer for every one that is purchased. Even better? Funds from purchased merch help further our mission and help us support local Families battling.
These make AMAZING holiday gifts as well. We hope you’ll keep us in mind this gift-giving season!
Valentine’s Day is coming!
Our exclusive C.U.R.E. bracelets make great gifts! With three different options available, there’s something for everyone.
Give the gift that supports local Families facing the unimaginable.
Support Local. Shop our Exclusive Collection.
Round up 8 of your smartest Friends… it’s time for trivia!
Click the banner above for details and to sign up your team today!
Every Penny Matters.
Do you want to join forces with C.U.R.E. and participate in our Annual Penny Drive? We make it easy! We can decorate and deliver jugs for your to facilitate your collections. We will also pick up your donations. No change rolling or counting required! Contact our office if your school or business would like to participate!
It makes cents.
Don’t forget the JOE!
Don’t forget to check out our Friends at Awareness Coffee Co.! They have many different coffee options AND you can support a cause you’re passionate about (we’re partial to the Pediatric Cancer Blend). A portion of the sale of the coffee will be donated to the charities listed under each cause.
Causewash is Back!
We ae happy to share that Causewash is back and we are partnering with them, once again! Check out any of the GO Carwashes located locally in Rochester and wash your car all while supporting local Families! Click the link below to learn more.
Become a C.U.R.E. Ambassador!
The Support Doesn’t Stop When Treatment Stops…
Because of YOU and your kindness.
Support our mission year-round by becoming a C.U.R.E. Ambassador! A C.U.R.E. Ambassador is a donor who commits to our mission through a monthly donation of his/her choosing. Whatever level you are comfortable with makes a difference!
Round Up for C.U.R.E.!
We are thrilled to share that we are now part of the Walmart Spark Good program! You can select “C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association” as your charity of choice and round up your purchases! The rounded up change will be donated to C.U.R.E.!
STEP 1: Visit walmart.com/sparkgood and sign in to your Walmart.com account.
STEP 2: Search for a favorite charity.
STEP 3: Once you choose a charity, go to the Round Up box and click "Select this Charity"
STEP 4: Review the FAQs and the Terms of Use.
C.U.R.E. Partners:
You can now return your cans and bottles to Alpco Recycling and Bottle & Can Retrieval Centers! Let them know you’d like to support “C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association” and a donation will be made to us!
Alpco Recycling is located at:
846 Macedon Center Road, Macedon, NY 14502
Bottle & Can Retrieval Centers located at:
509 Spencerport Rd, Rochester
2199 East Henrietta Rd, Rochester
2374 Chili Ave, Rochester
More ways to help:
Hailey and her Family have been saving aluminum can tabs for C.U.R.E. for many years now. The photo is Hailey standing in an oil drum of tabs surrounded by 14 oil drums FILLED with can tabs! They bring the drums to the scrap yard and then donate the proceeds to C.U.R.E. Those proceeds are then applied to the cost of parking vouchers for our Families.
You can bring your can tabs to our office at 200 Westfall Road, 14620 during business hours and we will collect them for Hailey and her Family.
We hope you think of Hailey and her program while you are at family gatherings, picnics and other fun summer activities this summer that may include aluminum cans!
Rock C.U.R.E. Elite Sport Socks!
These super comfortable and supportive sport socks are HERE! What a great way to show support for C.U.R.E. and small businesses, they are made in the USA! Rock them while you are working from home or out exercising. Sandal season is over, rock these cozy socks today!
C.U.R.E. has joined the PayPal Giving Fund. Please consider adding us to your account to Shop, Donate and Raise Awareness for our families.
PayPal Giving Fund expands our fundraising reach through direct integration with PayPal, eBay and GoFundMe.
Bereavement Group
The January Bereavement Group will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, January 3rd. The group will meet at the C.U.R.E. office at 200 Westfall Rd, Rochester.
No RSVP is necessary.
Please reach out to Michelle Magin at
michelle.magin@curekidscancer.com with any questions.
Did you know? For children who have experienced the death of a sibling from childhood cancer, SuperSibs offers additional mailings through the Grief and Loss Mailing Program.
This program includes...
💛 Grief support and resources specifically for parents
💛 4 mailings per year for two years with activities designed to help SuperSibs to cope with their grief and feelings
💛 A special remembrance on the anniversary of their sibling’s passing
Learn more about this free program for siblings:
Click Here To Check it Out
We are so grateful to the community for all of the wonderful donations we receive throughout the year. We could not service all the families we do without this generous support. If you or a community group you belong to is looking for something to do for a charity, please consider donating items from C.U.R.E.’s wish list so that we can continue to provide for our families:
A cure for childhood cancer, blood diseases and brain tumors!
- SQUISHMALLOWS! ALL SIZES! The kids love them!
- Universal phone chargers with long cords
- Journals for Kids and Teens
- Gift cards for Wegmans, Tops, Wal-Mart, Target and gas cards
- Gift cards for GrubHub, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Moe’s, Chipotle, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks
- Crafts for young adults and children
- Items for teens or young adults
- Toys (Please look at our Amazon Wish Lists:
Under $20: https://a.co/hlW4hCO
$20 - 50: https://a.co/eHiQcV2
$50+: https://a.co/bVDujCy)
We ask that all items be new and recently purchased. Thank you!