HAPPY BIRTHDAY
NICOLE!
To take the $1 Birthday Girl Challenge,
click below.
(extra feel-good points for donating more)
Maya Has a Simple Wish For The Holidays ….
She wants you to save her life.
Maya is an adorable 4 year old whose short life has been overtaken by a complex disease with a long name, Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, or HLH. Her perfect little girl life was filled with dancing, singing, reading books, and baking with her grandmothers. From the moment of her diagnosis on September 4, 2009, those happy days gave way to the frightening challenges of daily medical treatments in intensive care.
HLH is a rare disorder primarily affecting young children at a very early age but is found in patients of all ages. Histiocyte cells, produced in the marrow and part of the immune system, eat up normal blood cells which are then stored in the liver and spleen. The cells build up, painfully, causing the organs to enlarge and shift, eventually pushing against the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
The disease is so rare that there is not even a body of data on which Maya’s prognosis can be based. All that’s known for sure is that her return to health is a long shot without your help. The short term treatment is a form of chemotherapy which Maya started the same day she was diagnosed, but the only possibility for long term health is a bone marrow transplant.
Maya needs donated bone marrow that very closely matches her own. The best chances of finding a matched donor are with a sibling, but Maya’s little brother is not a match. The next best chance is with a parent but Maya’s parents are not a match either. Can you be Maya's best chance? She needs you!
You could have Maya’s future inside you! Think of it. You could hold the key to curing
Maya’s disease, or the disease of another sick child or adult, inside you right now and all it takes to begin your journey to hero status is to join the national registry of marrow donors at Be The Match. Please join the registry. Please spread the word. Tell your family, your friends, your co-workers, that Maya is looking for that one person who could save her life. Please urge others in your community to join.
It’s so easy to be someone's hero.
Visit http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/index.html, and click on the informative links in the left side bar to learn more about the process. There are many misconceptions about this lifesaving process and you will be pleasantly surprised to see how simple it is to save a life. You’re now ready to click JOIN NOW. You will be sent a kit with instructions about the painless cheek swab needed to see if you can be a match and where to send your completed swab and registration paperwork in the pre-paid envelope. To ensure the most optimal processing on Maya’s behalf, be sure to use the Promo Code marrow4maya when you sign up.
Whether Maya reminds you of your daughter, your grandchild or just the little girl down the street who always smiles and waves, it takes just a moment to give her a lifetime of moments. Please join today and answer her call for help.
If you still have questions about marrow donation, please contact Be The Match at:
1 (800) MARROW-2 (1-800-627-7692).
=> Back to top of page
For more information about May Bash 2010, please visit:
http://maybash.blogspot.com/
The serious business of having fun is such a great way to give hope to a child facing the challenges of cancer. On behalf of the children whose lives will be sustained or saved because of your generous support, we extend our heartfelt thanks for being considered as the charity of choice for the May Bash this year. As good stewards of your funds, 100% of donations will support pediatric cancer research through the Sunshine Project and marrow donor testing for the National Marrow Registry –saving lives every day!
We are a 501 (c) (3) registered in the State of Florida. Both the programs funded by your support dollars from the May Bash are initiatives that benefit children throughout the nation, including those near your home. Checks made payable directly to Kickin' for Kids or donations made through our website will be acknowledged. Your donation is tax deductible.
=> Back to top of page
Kickin’ for Kids was established to help fund the search for a cure for pediatric cancer and to improve the quality of life for children who are seriously ill or facing other life challenges. We provide financial support to agencies directly involved in these endeavors through fundraising events, donations, ongoing programs and volunteer support. We were founded on the principle that one person cannot do everything, but everyone can do something. By living this ideal, our work embraces Nicole's belief that we are here on earth to help one another.
We Help Create Possibilities
Why the feather? When you lose someone you love and you've given up all hope of ever hearing from them again, have faith that they are still with you. Sometimes they'll leave you a little sign to let you know they're listening - something as simple as a feather. All you have to do is look for the sign. Nicole, daughter of KFK founder, Marla Grant, leaves a baby feather for her now and again to remind her that she’s very close - just a breath away.
Be Kind
Be Happy
Share Your Light
=> Back to top of page
Team In Training The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training® is the world's largest endurance sports training program. The program provides training to run or walk a whole or half marathon or participate in a triathlon or century (100-mile) bike ride. Since 1988, over 220,000 volunteer participants have helped raise over $500 million.
By helping to raise funds for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research and patient services, you'll receive:
- Personalized fitness training by certified coaches for a period of four to five months
- Training clinics
- Your own personal Web site for online fundraising
- A supportive group of teammates
- Lodging and airfare to more than 60 accredited events in the United States and abroad.
Be giving.
One person cannot do everything...
but everyone can do something.
=> Back to top of page
