September 2025 Newsletter
Once upon a time, a group of Parents each lost a Child to Pediatric Cancer. They were faced with many challenges but worked together to form C.U.R.E. with the hope of helping future Families who also receive that devastating diagnosis.
Life is not a fairy tale, but fairy tales pose challenges to the characters involved and the Village comes together to try to help overcome the challenges. C.U.R.E.’s mission is to provide loving support to local Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Families. We aim to be the Village of support that wraps our arms around our Families to help them through their challenges.
Every Family’s story is different. C.U.R.E. travels alongside our Families through their unique stories to help wherever we can.
Our theme for 2025 is Fairytales!
Happy 3 year anniversary, Tameka!
Please join us in wishing Tameka a happy 3 year anniversary with C.U.R.E.! She is such a wonderful asset to our team. Even after working alongside Tameka for three years, it feels like we learn something new about her every week! She is always willing to jump in and lend a hand, especially with loading and unloading items from our office. Not only is Tameka skilled with our Bookkeeping and thanking donors, she also is a fantastic chef! The love she has for her family and her children is truly inspirational. She’s such a fantastic mom to her kids. Thanks for all you do to make C.U.R.E. such a great place to work, Tameka!
September is Awareness Month!
There are LOTS of ways to enjoy yummy food and help raise awareness
Join us at our Red Cross Blood Drive to donate blood in honor of Little Warriors
Many towns, villages and counties are issuing Proclamations!
Our flamingo flamboyances will be migrating around town
Check out: “What I Wish I Knew…”
We are sharing a new series of YouTube videos called “What I Wish I Knew”. They will be from the perspective of Parents, Caregivers, Providers and more.
Spotlight on:
Meet our Friend, CJ.
CJ (Chase) was diagnosed with an NFI Tumor on his brain stem. He has a huge love for life and treats people around him amazingly. He is always in a good mood and helps everyone around him!
He likes having his dad draw tattoos on him while he’s in the hospital. CJ also likes to color and watch TV while he’s at the hospital.
CJ is a part of a beautiful blended family. He and his two little brothers are adopted and all three boys are special needs.
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!
Wyoming County Fair Fun!
Thank you to the Putney Family for coordinating and the Neal Family for the vehicle to participate in the Wyoming County Fair! We had a great time representing C.U.R.E. and throwing some shade…the good kind anyways! We shared our C.U.R.E. sunglasses with those in attendance! It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the Fair, too! We are so honored to have been a part of these efforts and appreciate all you do to raise awareness in honor of your angels, Aurora and Byron, and all Warriors.
Catching Dreams:
Turning Wishing Into Fishing
Captain Ned and his “Dream Team” of certified Coast Guard Captains and guides at Catching Dreams FIshing Charters are so great to our C.U.R.E. Kiddos and their Families! This non-profit provides fishing adventures for children and young adults battling cancer! They create meaningful moments and memories on the waters of Western New York by “turning wishing into fishing”!
These free fishing charters offer the highest level of professionalism, safety and ability. The special opportunities allow kids who are battling cancer to regain a sense of normalcy in their lives, find respite from the challenges of cancer treatment and spend time learning and enjoying a new activity.
Captain Ned also comes to C.U.R.E.’s Survivors’ Day Picnic every year and shares free fishing poles with the Families and is so thoughtful in every way! We are so grateful for Captain Ned and his “Dream Team!”
CANDICE’S SICKLE CELL FUND SCHOLARSHIP
Candice’s Sickle Cell Anemia Fund, Inc., is a powerful initiative founded by Candice Young-Deler, who has courageously overcome the challenges of living with Sickle Cell Disease. Inspired by her own academic journey, Candice created this scholarship to support students living with Sickle Cell who are pursuing higher education.
Each year, the fund awards $1,500 scholarships to three deserving individuals, helping ease the financial burden and recognize their resilience and determination. These scholarships not only provide financial support but also affirm the strength and potential of students facing chronic health challenges.
💡 Why It Matters:
Students with Sickle Cell often face painful health episodes that disrupt their education. This fund helps ensure that their dreams of college and career success remain within reach.
📬 Want to support or apply?
Visit candicessicklecellfund.org to learn more, donate, or share the opportunity with someone who may benefit.
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.
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 or Elena about doing an Instagram Takeover.
“Like”, Share or Comment on our social media posts.
Research & Advocacy:
Conquer Cancer in Kids:
make childhood cancer research a priority:
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.
81,106 signatures of 150,000 wanted (as of 05/16/2025)
Bereavement Group
Thank you to the Families that attended our First Annual Bereaved Family Picnic! A short burst of rain didn’t stop us from enjoying the day. Shout out to Swan Market for catering the event. The food was amazing!
September Bereavement Group - Parent Night Out
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 - 7:00 p.m.
Join us for mac & cheese at 58 Main BBQ & Brew
58 N. Main Street
Brockport, NY 14420
RSVP is required - limited to 10 parents
October Bereavement Group
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 - 7:00 p.m.
C.U.R.E. Office
200 Westfall Road
Rochester, NY 14620
No RSVP Required
SAVE THE DATE
C.U.R.E. Annual Remembrance Service
Sunday, October 26, 2025 - 2:00 p.m.
Italian American Community Center
150 Frank Dimino Way
Rochester, NY 14624
Further info to follow soon. RSVP will be required.
Not on our Bereaved Family mailing address or in our private FaceBook page? Click the button below to be added or contact Diane at (585) 473-0180 x105.
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
Ready for Back To School!
Our friends, CURE Bears for Hope & Love, know how stressful (but exciting) back to school can be, especially for our Families. They put together 80 backpacks for our kiddos starting school next month! Inside each one was school supplies like pencils, pens, markers, notebooks and more! Our Families are so grateful for their kindness and help as they get ready for the school year, especially for those who haven't had the resources or time due to medical concerns. In addition, they also donated boxes of blankets, which are often used in our comfort bags for newly diagnosed Families.
Thank you Lynne and Randy for prepping our Families for a great start of the school year and beyond!
FOREver Grateful!
Our Friends at the Pecora Real Estate Team organized their annual Keller Williams Charity Golf Tournament! They had over 70 golfers in attendance and raised funds to help our Families. Altogether, they raised $7,716.47! We are blown away by their kindness and generosity!
Thank you Jonathan and team for your dedication to our Families and letting them know there is a community that supports them!
(Blue) KNights in Shinning Armor!
The Blue Knights NY IV hosted a Cruise for C.U.R.E. event in July! This event brought in 84 motorcycles to support C.U.R.E.! Their tireless efforts in collecting raffle baskets were a great addition to the event as well. A huge thank you to the Hamlin Lion’s Club for cooking at the event, too!
It was a great event for all involved and we are so honored the Blue KNights chose to support our Families and our mission… Thank you!
Hot Diggity Dog!
Every year, our Friends from the Eastside Little League hold an annual hot dog day to raise funds for C.U.R.E.! This event is held in memory of Amanda Conrow, who our Community lost in 2015. Amanda's family has been heavily involved with the Eastside Little League for many, many years. As a way to honor her memory, Hot Dog Day is a day where all the proceeds from the sale of Hot Dogs are donated to C.U.R.E.!
This year, they were able to raise $1,403 for our Families! Thank you Eastside Little League for honoring Amanda’s legacy and supporting other Families also affected by childhood cancer in our community.
Birthday Cheers!
Christian Pappas, a dedicated Friend of our organization, celebrated his 45th birthday! Not only did he have a big celebration, but he encouraged his Friends & Family to donate back to C.U.R.E. for his birthday! These donations were made in honor of sweet, angel Hunter and other kiddos affected by childhood cancer. The day was filled with great company, food, drinks and lots of fun & love!
In total, Christian and his guests raised over $2,000!
Happy birthday to you, Christian! We hope you had a great day and thank you for always thinking of our Families!
The Dalton Gang dances into our hearts!
For the 3rd year in a row, The Dalton Gang and local Square Dance groups danced into our hearts. They raised awareness and funds for C.U.R.E. in memory of Aurora Putney. While dancing the afternoon away, they raised nearly $700 to help support C.U.R.E.’s mission and our Families. We are so grateful for their commitment to C.U.R.E.. We hope everyone who went had a swinging time!
We want to talk about Bruno…
The song says “We don’t talk about Bruno”, but we want to highlight our Friends Bruno & Nicole and their team at Capone’s Italian Eatery West. They invited the coolest motorcycles and cars to their parking lot for an afternoon of good food, music and checking out these sweet rides. They welcomed the community to their location on a Sunday in August, a day they are typically closed for business, to raise funds and awareness in honor of our Kids. The food was delicious and the event raised over $2,000 for C.U.R.E.! We are so grateful for their advocacy and support. Now, go check them out in September for their BBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese Pizza and all their yummy subs!
Please give a hand for our Advocate of the Month….
Tom Burns!
We are so grateful for Tom and his dedication to our Julie Roberts Children’s Memorial Garden! Tom has been volunteering in our garden for many years - whether he’s pulling weeding, planting flowers, or making it tidy, we wouldn’t be able to honor our sweet angels with out him. We recently found out that after all this time, gardening isn’t really his thing… he just loves being outdoors and helping out where ever he can! Who would’ve known? His kindness truly shines through every time he’s here!
Thank you Tom, for honoring our sweet angels and helping the garden grow to its full beauty!
Sunday Brunch Volunteers Needed!
Calling all amazing volunteers - help us at our biggest fundraiser of the year! We will need a TON of volunteer help on Sunday, September 28th the day of the event. This includes registration and check-in, dining room set up, dining room service, silent auction duty, clean up and truck loading.
If you are interested in helping, please click the button below to sign up. Thank you!
Say Cheese!
We are looking for local photographers who would be willing to donate their time occasionally to photograph our End of Chemo Bell Ringings in the office. If you are interested in joining our volunteer email list for this project, please click the box below. When we are notified of an upcoming End of Chemo Bell Ringing, we will reach out to our network of photographers and will work on a first-come-first-here basis. We would love to build up our volunteer photographer list for these special occasions!
Come Tend to Our Garden
We are looking for volunteers to lovingly tend to our Julie Roberts Children’s Memorial Garden. Volunteers would adopt a week and come anytime during that week that works with their schedules. We ask that our Friends prune our plants and trees, clean out around our Memorial Bricks and weed our garden beds.
Join our Board of Directors!
We have some Board positions opening up! Are you 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
Calling all Former Board Members:
If you served on the Board of Directors for C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association, we would love to stay connected! We are hoping to plan an Alumni Board event in the near future! Please email Holly Dutcher to connect!
holly.dutcher@curekidscancer.com
Once Upon A Time… there were noble Knights and radiant Princesses who ruled the kingdom! Though small in stature, they were mighty in spirit! But they couldn’t defeat the dragons of cancer alone…
We cordially invite you to join us at the 17th Annual Recipe for A C.U.R.E. Sunday Brunch presented by West Herr Cares on September 28th at Arbor at the Port! Help us honor those brave Knights and Princesses at our biggest fundraising event of the year! We will be joined by the American Culinary Federation as they provide delicious bites and treats fit for kings and queens!
We are honored to have Sandy Waters & Scott Spezzano as our storytellers this year, hosting the event and leading our ENCHANTING Live Auction!
Can’t make the event? Don’t worry! You can still partake in our virtual Silent Auction with 200+ baskets, you’re bound to find something for everyone!
We can also bid for you on any live auction package! Reach out to Sammi Jo if you are interested in virtually bidding on live packages: SamanthaJo.Uhrmacher@curekidscancer.com
Be sure to stay up-to-date with all things Awareness in September!
Raising Awareness. Inspiring Hope.
Using our template, you can customize our 2025 Childhood Cancer Awareness Month shirt designs! Add your Warrior’s name to be included in the center of the circle or purchase one honoring all Childhood Cancer Warriors. A portion of each sale will be donated to C.U.R.E. to help further our mission.
Please help us raise awareness and continue the loving support our Families have come to know, appreciate and rely on.
Looking for a fun family project? All proceeds from the sale of vintage miniature furniture kits from minisbycm.etsy.com will go directly to C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association. Each kit costs $12 and contains everything needed to build a piece or set of dollhouse furniture. Please spread the word!
PeachSkin Sheets are BACK!
PeachSkin Sheets are the coziest, softest bedsheets… you'll INSTANTLY fall in love, or asleep! Purchase a set now through December 15th and use the code "CURECC1" to get $45 OFF for every set. Not only will you be getting luxury sheets for a discounted price, but $20 per set will be donated back to C.U.R.E.! WHAT A DEAL!
Here's how you can order yours today:
-Click the button below to visit the website.
-Use discount code: CURECC1 at checkout.
-Get a discount AND make a difference!
34th Annual Race With Grace 5k & 10k!
Looking to run off the carbs before feasting on Thanksgiving? Sign up for the Race with Grace Run! Runners can choose from the 5k or 10k and participate in the 34th year of the event:
Date: Thursday, November 27th
Time: 8:30 am EST
Location: Lakeshore Community Church 3651 LATTA RD. ROCHESTER NY 14612
Runners and volunteers are needed! Click the link below to sign up:
Qualified Charitable Distributions:
To transfer funds from your IRA to C.U.R.E., please follow these step-by-step instructions:
(1) Contact your financial advisor or representative at the financial institution that holds your IRA.
(2) Tell your representative that you wish to make a QCD from your IRA to C.U.R.E.
(3) Request a check made payable to “C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association” and indicate that it is a “qualified charitable distribution from the account of (your name).
(4) For wire transfers, contact request transfer instruction from C.U.R.E.
(5) Tax ID information: C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association Federal Tax ID: 51-0215037
(6) Please contact C.U.R.E. and let us know to expect a payment.
Please note that the maximum QCD is $100,000 per year per person, with married couples with separate IRAs eligible to give up to $200,000 per year. Transfers to donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, private foundations, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable gift annuities do not qualify. The transfer is tax-free and is not included in your adjusted gross income (AGI), thus there is no charitable deduction. A transfer is not subject to AGI limitations on charitable deductions. C.U.R.E. recommends you consult with your estate attorney and/or financial advisor prior to requesting a QCD to C.U.R.E.
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!
Embrace the Difference
Did you know that we partner with Reeds Jewelers on their Embrace the Difference campaign? With Graduations approaching, we hope you’ll consider grabbing a gift from Reeds Jewelers Embrace the Difference Collection and make a difference to our Families (all while giving a beautiful gift!).
We also have exclusive bracelets here at C.U.R.E. with our logo on them that make beautiful gifts!
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!
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.
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!
- 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
- Gifts 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!