Several months ago we came across the amazing work of Friends Like Us (@friendslikeus on Twitter and www.friendslikeus.org). Friends Like Us is a nonprofit childhood cancer charity based out of Ohio. It was founded by Mark and Deloris Bailey who were going through treatments for their son's leukemia.
From their web site, they describe how teddy bears provide comfort and support for children fighting cancer.
"Friends Like Us is focused on helping children devastated by childhood cancer with their Chemo Bear program called "Getting Better Together". They provide a child diagnosed with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, a customized Chemo Bear with many interactable accessories and a children's cancer
book (free of charge). The bears help to visually teach kids about their cancer treatments ahead of them, as well as help them deal with fear and anxiety through their many years of chemotherapy and surgeries. The duration time for chemotherapy for children with
cancer is approximately 2 years for girls and 3 years for boys (a lot isn't it?). These children are the heart of Friends Like Us and it's their purpose to reach out and make a difference right now in each of them and their families.
No parent should ever have to hear the words "it's cancer". Friends Like Us strives to spread awareness of pediatric cancers in hopes of one day to find a cure. That's why Friends Like Us has made contributions to cancer organizations such as Alex's Lemonade and St. Baldricks to support Childhood Cancer Research."
We applaud the Bailey family for doing so much to help others and providing a "bear" of inspiration for so many kids across the country. We encourage you to follow their work on-line to see how you can help.
About @abolishcancer
@abolishcancer is not just a Twitter account but a grassroots movement to raise money and awareness to end cancer. We don't support one specific cancer charity or type of cancer..... our mission is to ABOLISH them all.
We created "Twitterthons" which allow a sponsor to donate $1 for every new follower we receive in a given day to a cancer charity of their choice. Since we began 14 months ago we have raised over $43,000- all by tweeting and following.
We have great plans for our global @abolishcancer movement. IF you would like to get involved, email us at bonham.darah@gmail.com
"Power of the People, Through Twitter, to @abolishcancer"
Friends Like Us (@friendslikeus) is doing great work for kids with cancer and their families. We came to know them during the last months of our three year old daughter's fight with leukemia (@4tasneem, facebook.com/4tasneem and http://nee.my/), have seen the good work their doing.
ReplyDeleteWe hope more people will support Friends Like Us so that they can support more families like ours.