a glimpse of work we do…
We donated to Mercy Health Foundation St. Louis to assist with funding of an art therapy program run by Arts As Healing. This program offers adult cancer patients at the David C. Pratt Cancer Center a nonjudgmental environment to express their artistic expression during chemotherapy transfusions as a way of removing focus from illness and transferring focus on a creative outlet.
We continue to distribute our own logoed backpacks to local cancer centers and Hope Lodge St. Louis, including a blanket, Love Your Melon beanie, socks, washcloth, journal, pen, coloring book, colored pencils, lotion, lip balm, stress ball, tooth brush & toothpaste. We also recently delivered ten more laptops to cancer patients in need as well as ten more STEAM kits including a tablet and five days of STEAM activities. Additionally, we shared cookbooks written specifically for cancer patients.
Our newest project is providing financial assistance to cancer patients upon receiving life-changing cancer diagnoses requiring them to make decisions about their fertility.
Our high school seniors create goodie bags for kids receiving treatment. We funded and delivered ten STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics) Kits through Code.Chella which included a tablet and five days of STEAM activities for middle-school aged kids. We began distribution of our own logoed backpacks, including a blanket, Love Your Melon beanie, socks, washcloth, journal, pen, coloring book, colored pencils, lotion, lip balm, stress ball, tooth brush & toothpaste. We also recently delivered ten HP Elitebook 840 G3 Laptops to kids in need.
When unable to make our hospital visits during the pandemic, with the help of our friends at Nudo House STL and Strange Donuts, we delivered lunch to the staff at the Cardinals Kids Cancer Center to show appreciation for all they do. We also brought masks for the cancer patients and their families. We also mailed out backpacks since we were unable to distribute them.
Dr. Jeffrey Bradley has been an inspiration to us through work he does in radiation oncology. We meet many patients at Hope Lodge who speak highly of him as their doctor. He was an integral part of dad's cancer treatment as well as in bringing proton therapy to the Siteman Cancer Center. After attending the Celebration of the 500th Patient of the S. Lee Kling Proton Therapy Center and touring the S. Lee Kling Proton Therapy Center, our foundation decided as part of our mission to support cancer research initiatives, we would contribute to funding of Dr. Bradley's research. We contributed to the Caulder Family Innovation Fund at The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital and are excited about his dedication to improving treatments for cancer patients. Dr. Bradley's current clinical trials are focusing on esphogeal cancer and lung cancer. The past few years we have supported Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan’s lung cancer research advancements due to his extensive studies in cancer genomics.
We delivered Pab's Packs to St. Louis Children's Hospital. Pab's Packs are backpacks filled with comfort items, created by teens for chronically ill teens. Gabriella, a precious thirteen year old with an infectious smile, is undergoing Proton Therapy treatment for a tumor in her neck. She loves her Pab's Pack! Thank you for sharing your photos and your beautiful spirit with us, Gabriella!
With our partnership with Pab’s Packs and the incredible grant with Build-A-Bear, we were able to expand our presence to distribute even more Pab’s Packs to children in four local hospitals in the St. Louis area. We are so excited to also be sharing Pab’s Packs and Love Your Melon beanies with children in these hospitals now: Cardinals Kids Cancer Center, Mercy Children’s Hospital St. Louis, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
A group pic at the end of the night. The kids love to visit with the residents and the residents love both interacting with us and the LYM beanies!
We visit Hope Lodge for social activities, to interact with the residents and distribute Love Your Melon beanies to the cancer patients and caregivers using money raised from our charity golf tournament. We chose Love Your Melon as a partner because fifty percent of each beanie purchase goes back to pediatric cancer.
We make frequent visits to Hope Lodge throughout the year. These photos feature our Halloween bingo, ice cream socials, Thanksgiving & winter holiday activities, board games, coloring mandalas and just simple conversations and distribution of more LYM beanies and sharing Pumpkin Spice cakes our generous friend, Jannette, at Nothing Bundt Cakes donated to us to share with the residents.
Dalie's Smokehouse helped us provide dinner for the cancer patients and their caregivers staying at Hope Lodge. They LOVED dinner. The best part was spending time with the residents, hearing their stories, witnessing their faith and gratitude and how they interact as a close family. It is such an inspiration!
We contributed to the Friends of Kids with Cancer Winter Coat Drive by providing winter coats and Love Your Melon beanies to children battling cancer and their siblings in need.
We partnered with St. Louis Children's Hospital by contributing to the Family Care Fund, specifically for children with cancer and their families. The Family Care Fund provides supports such as a sibling playroom, music & art therapies, tutoring programs and pet therapy. We also brought Love Your Melon beanies and handmade fleece hats and braided cloth bracelets made by PCH clothing students. Big thanks to Mrs. Deelo and her students!
We distributed copies of Jeannie Burt's book, Lymphedema, to some breast cancer patients.
