Today, Dosty, Danielle, Asheton, Mike, and Jane are working alongside social workers at hospitals across the region to meet the needs of six new families to Jane's Fund, all facing a pediatric terminal cancer diagnosis:
• Three-year-old Wyatt has a spinal tumor, and his family needs one year of their house mortgage covered: $18,054
• 12-year-old Ashley unexpectedly died from complications of lymphoma treatment. Her family has no savings left for a funeral: $4,100
• 10-year-old Claire's bone tumor has spread, and her parents will need time away from work to help her through aggressive treatment. Six months of car payments and six months of mortgage payments: $15,180
• Pam has three children, including a baby with a rare, aggressive abdominal tumor. Her car repairs cost more than the car itself. Dosty is working with a car dealership to purchase a small SUV, the fifth car she's purchased in the last three weeks: $25,500
• Four-year-old Edward's mother stopped working so she can be with him during the final days of his brain cancer fight. The family needs financial support: six months of mortgage and a car payoff. Dad continues working as an electrician while helping care for their other children: $35,500
• Michael's family is planning a celebration of life service. He's been part of Jane's Fund lives for almost all of the four years Jane's Fund has existed: Connect with Funeral Home today
Our first-quarter, monthly, and 20-day attendance celebrations are taking place in our partner schools. Coordinating Ice-cream trucks and placing orders to restock school incentive stores means student performance, behavior, and attendance is on the rise.
Every member of the team is working together today to communicate and execute "dreaming bigger" with our 12 under-resourced partnering schools:
Finalizing upcoming field trips:
• Fourth grade to Discovery Place
• Sixth grade to the U.S. National Whitewater Center
• Third grade to the Slime Museum
• Eighth grade to the North Carolina mountains
• Middle school and high school college visits
• Seventh graders traveling to Atlanta for an overnight trip
The first $100 staff surprise of the school year is happening this week. Shhh! It's a surprise!
• Asheton will retrieve 140 $100 bills from her friends at the bank today and deliver them to one of our favorite high school principals.
• Danielle is finalizing a new playground purchase, approved by CMS for one of our K-5 partnering schools.
• Band instruments and uniforms are being delivered so every middle school child who wants to perform can participate in the holiday band performance.
• A new art teacher is going to fire up the school kiln for the first time in many years, with new clay, paint, markers, and art smocks being ordered today for delivery.
• Two meetings today will focus on after-school programming: GEP and middle school after-school possibilities; Jane's Fund and K-5 afterschool sports, including Girls on the Run, flag football, basketball, soccer, and cheer.
• A final quote for an upfitted space for an automotive program at a partnering high school to bring Career and Technical Education (CTE) into the school just came in today. Additional meetings are in the works with CPCC to explore paralegal, CNA, pharmacy technician, and cosmetology options, with the goal of employing students after graduation, if not before.
There's nothing more magical than a team working together, using their gifts, to make miracles happen for kids. Thank you for being a part of the Jane's Fund team. None of our "to-do" items would be possible without you.
