Alonzo Lacey, age 16 of Inkster, Michigan was diagnosed Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors, which is a soft tissue cancer that produces multiple tumors in the abdomen. Alonzo’s mother, Malisa, has had to quit her job in order to take care of Alonzo and to take him in for his weekly treatments. Malisa had fallen behind in her rent significantly, as well as other bills. On May 10, 2008 a grant was awarded to Alonzo’s family, which provided assistance with her rent and other outstanding bills.

Mathias Zaracki, born in October 2007 and in December of 2007 was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer called Mesoblastic Nephroma, which is a type of kidney tumor. The tumor as well as his right kidney were removed and in Feb 2008 Mathias was found to have the recurrent disease. He requires chemotherapy and radiation at Children Hospital in Detroit. The family lives in Caro, Michigan and they have to drive down for his treatments. On May 12, 2008 a grant was awarded which provides gas for their trips to Detroit, meal cards at Ronald McDonald Housing, utilities and new tires for their car.

Mackenzie Smith, age 6 of Clawson, Michigan was diagnosed to have a Wilms Tumor, a serious form of childhood cancer in April 2006 and had a recurrence of her disease in August 2006. Since then Mackenzie has had multiple surgeries, has been in and out of the hospital for extended stays, as well as receiving intensive chemotherapy. Mackenzie was being treated at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Mackenzie lost her battle with cancer on February 12, 2008. Mackenzie loved dressing up, doing her makeup and painting her nails. She was also very devoted to her little web-based pets, Webkins. Mackenzie is survived by her parents Jeremy and Debra, and her brother Cooper and sister Madyson. On February 13, 2008 a grant was awarded to Mackenzie’s family that covered all of Mackenzie’s funeral expenses.

12 Year Old Ashlee Drouillard was diagnosed with Synoval Sarcoma, a very serious pediatric cancer that has required multiple hospital stays and clinic visits. Her parents have missed a lot of work and their income has greatly decreased. They have experienced significant financial hardship with Ashlee’s diagnosis. On December 31, 2007 a grant was awarded to the Drouillard family. This grant provided significant relief with the Drouillard’s mortgage, utility and other past due bills.

Sarah Porter, age 7 of Kalamazoo was diagnosed with inoperable brain stem glioma with optic glioma on both eyes in 2004. She has undergone aggressive treatments over the last 3 years, which includes extensive radiation, brain surgery and the removal of her left eye in March of 2005. Sarah is being treated at The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. In October of 2007 a grant was awarded to Sarah’s grandmother, who is her primary caregiver. This grant award provided mortgage, utilities assistance and $1,000.00 in gas cards to help with the frequent travel costs to Cleveland.

Juvonta Canty, age 10 of Detroit recently received a bone marrow transplant at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in hopes of curing his leukemia. Juvonta’s mother has missed a lot of work because of his treatment schedule. On October 24, 2007 a grant was awarded to Juvonta’s family, which provided financial assistance with rent and repairs to their automobile.

Natalie Perkowski, age 11 of Macomb Township was diagnosed with a benign Ganglioglioma in May of 2007. On May 30, 2007 Natalie underwent surgical resection of the tumor. Because of the size of the tumor and its location it put Natalie at high risk for brain damage during the surgery. Natalie did not recover well from the surgery and remained dependent on a mechanical ventilator for an extended period of time. She has endured a lot of physical therapy and recovery over the last 6 months and was discharged home on October 22, 2007. She still requires total assistance with all activities of daily living including feeds through a gastric tube, bathing, physical exercise and muscle stretching. Natalie’s prolonged hospitalization required her father to miss a great deal of work. On Sunday November 11, 2007 we were involved with a fundraiser that was held to benefit Natalie and her family.

Juan Hernandez, age 11 of Miami , FLA. Because our foundation is a Michigan based organization that provides financial assistance to Michigan residents only, we were unable to provide direct assistance to Juan’s family. Juan lost his battle with cancer in November of 2007 and his parents did not have the financial means to provide a proper burial for their son. They contacted many organizations throughout the State of Florida and across the country to try and gain some financial assistance. We were contacted by one of our supporters who had heard of Juan’s case and we were asked to get involved to help this family. Through the generosity of one of our partners, The Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation, we were able to provide funeral cost assistance to Juan’s parents.

Agatha Bond, age 43 of Detroit is a single mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2007. Agatha has been unable to work since her diagnosis, which includes an aggressive treatment schedule. Her inability to work has caused great financial hardship for Agatha and her 14 year old daughter, Ashley. On December 10, 2007 a grant was awarded to Agatha, which will provide immediate assistance with her car payments, rent, utilities and groceries. In addition Agatha was placed in our Holiday Giving program, which will provide a wonderful Christmas for both Agatha and Ashley.

Stephanie Shewell, 11 years old from Roseville, Michigan was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in 2005. This is a very serious form of childhood brain cancer. Stephanie went through intensive chemotherapy and radiation. Unfortunately, Stephanie's condition continued to worsen as she was being treated at Children's Hospital of Michigan. On August 23, 2007 Stephanie lost her battle with brain cancer. Sonia Shewell is Stephanie's mother and she was unable to consistently work during Stephanie's battle with cancer. A grant was awarded to Stephanie's family that provided financial assistance in areas such as mortgage, utilities and food. Prior to Stephanie becoming too sick to get around we took Stephanie out on her 11th birthday for a special shopping spree.

Nathan Bailey, Age 11 of Detroit was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma on August 18, 2006. Ewings Sarcoma is a pediatric cancer found in the bone or soft tissue. Nathan is being treated at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and will need treatment over the next several months. Nathan is the oldest of four children. Nathan’s mother, Jessie is a single parent and has missed a great deal of work due to Nathan’s treatment. On August 7, 2007 a grant was awarded to the Bailey family. The grant provided financial assistance in the area of mortgage, utility bills, $500 grocery card, new clothes for all four children and a weekend trip for the family to Cedar Pointe.

The Kish Family of Redford. A scholarship grant in the amount of $5,000.00 was awarded to help with the tuition costs of both Kish children. Marcia Kish lost her husband to pancreatic cancer in March of 2007. Marcia has suffered significant financial hardship since the death of her husband. Marcia and Tom always realized the importance of their children’s education.

Diamond Williams, Age 6 of Detroit was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma on November 12, 2004. Neuroblastoma is a cancer of the sympathetic nervous system – a nerve network that carries messages from the brain throughout the body. Its tumors, which take form of a lump or mass, commonly begin in one of the adrenal glands, though they can also develop in nerve tissues in the neck, chest abdomen or pelvis. She has had numerous relapses since her diagnosis. On July 23, 2007 she was placed in hospice care. Diamond is one of 5 children to Charles and Stacy Williams. Diamond’s 7 year old brother has Cerebral Palsy with a mild case of brain damage. Charles lost his job due to the amount of time he missed with Diamond’s medical needs. On September 13, 2007 a grant was awarded to the Williams family. The grant will provide financial assistance with mortgage, furnace repair, new winter coats/boots for all of the children and a $500 grocery card. In addition we found Charles a new job and we have made arrangements with the family to take care of Diamond’s funeral expenses.

Timothy Larson is a 3 year old little boy who was diagnosed with stage four Rhabdomyosarcoma in July 2006. This is a fast growing highly malignant tumor. This is a very difficult cancer to treat. He has been undergoing intensive chemotherapy and recently had a bone marrow transplant. This will be followed by a tandem transplant. Timothy will require significant hospital care, which requires Timothy’s parents to remain on the campus of Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Mr. Tim Larson, Timothy’s father has been unable to maintain a consistent work schedule due to the extensive treatments. With an aggressive treatment schedule for July and August, a grant was awarded to the Larson family on July 18, 2007. This grant paid their mortgage payments for the month of July 07 and August 07.