Kristin Connor recalls the comfort offered to her by representatives from CURE Childhood Cancer when she was told her one-month-old son had an aggressive form of cancer.
“The emotional support was so helpful to me. Having a child with cancer was such an isolating experience,” Connor recalled of “the terror” she felt “and the grief of having a newborn with cancer.”
“Having people to turn to who really understood what we were going through was an emotional lifeline for me,” she added.
Thankfully, her second son Brandon, now 17, recovered from the neuroblastoma when he was just over the age of 2.
Since leaving her law practice to work with CURE in March 2006, Connor has led CURE as its executive director, raising more than $51 million to launch a precision medicine program for gene-based therapy and adding many important patient and family services.
"We Are Better Together" T-shirts is Connor's new fundraising idea. During this COVID-19 pandemic, showing solidarity and teamwork is critical, especially with increasing requests from families served by CURE.
“In addition to the stress associated with caring for a very sick child, many are unsure how they will pay their bills. The T-shirts are a simple way to give everyone an opportunity to support families in need,” she said.
“We’ve responded to many families in need of financial assistance because of layoffs,” Connor said. “One that stands out is the family of a 14-year-old who has been fighting cancer for three years, with many complications along the way. Her mom was laid off suddenly as a result of the pandemic, and CURE paid some bills for the family.”
Proceeds from CURE’s “We Are Better Together” T-shirt will be used to provide additional emergency financial assistance, meals and counseling for families of children with cancer.
Costing $25 to $29.50 each, the T-shirts are available in three colors and sizes XS to 4XL via the link: embroidery.net/collections/cure-childhood-cancer.
Orders placed by midnight on May 24 will begin shipping on May 31.
Information: ShopCureChildhoodCancer.org, CureChildhoodCancer.org
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