"I am writing in support of the Childhood Leukemia Foundation and their innovative resource for patients and families known as the Hope Binder. As a medical professional in an outpatient Oncology clinic, I have seen countless families benefit from this resource."
Read the Letter
"We can't thank you enough for the Hug U Wear wig for our daughter Alexa. She feels like a princess and it put such a smile on her face. See for yourself!!!"
"I would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for providing our daughter, Delaney with her new curly "Hug U Wear". She is completely attached to it and wears it EVERYWHERE! She won't even walk out to the mailbox without it. I think she would sleep in it if we let her. Her beautiful hair gives her such confidence and she feels like a "big girl" while wearing it. She receives compliments on her hair all the time, and the people I choose to tell that it is a "wig", simply can't believe it.
Delaney has a rather large collection of hats that she wears with her "hug". It is fun to pick out hats to match the outfits she wears. Thank you for providing our daughter with confidence and a small sense of normalcy amongst all of the treatments and pain she endures. She truly misses her "real" curls, so I appreciate you and what you do for these children every time I see the smile on my daughter's face. Thanks again for your generosity!"
"Thank you so much for putting a beautiful smile on my daughter's Gabrielle's face when she opened up her package and put her new hair on her head!!! She loves the teddy too!! XOXO Thank you."
"We wanted to give a HUGE THANK YOU for Amiyah's ipad. She was so excited to open this package unknowing what it was. Once it was opened you could not take the smile off her face, she was not happy when it needed to be charged! Thank you so much for caring and loving our children through this journey. It gives them a little bit of home and normalcy when they are far away from home. This foundation has been a blessing to us and we cannot thank you enough."
"My name is Johnny and I just wanted to thank you so much for the iPad gift! I am in the hospital. On Friday December 20 I got a bone marrow transplant. Now that I have an iPad I can facetime with my family and friends. I miss them very much. I hope you continue the great work you are doing! You make kids like me very happy!!!!
Thanks again and Merry Christmas!"
"My daughter Chelsea Ward just received a new iPad from your foundation and I cannot say thank you enough!! I wish I could have captured her reaction on video, she was so excited!! Immediately we had to download every game she had ever played on one before, then she realized she could listen to her favorite music and watch movies… 🙂 Later that evening she was able to "see" her brothers for the first time in over a week. They were all so excited as this was the first time they had ever used Skype, and her brothers being 2 & 4 weren't quite sure what to think, but they got used it real quick. They were making silly faces and poking each other, they were playing just as if they were in the room together.
Chelsea had spent the better part of last year in the hospital going through chemotherapy but we were closer to home and the risks weren't as high, so her brothers were able to visit. Now that she has had a bone marrow transplant I've decided it's too risky for them to visit, they were all really upset but it just isn't worth the risk. So this was a wonderful surprise to say the least. I just want to thank, you, Childhood Leukemia Foundation and all its donors again for the generous gift and for helping so many families during these difficult times."
"On behalf of the pediatric patients of Good Shepard Hospice, we would like to thank you for your generous donation of Ipads and accessories! They will provide much needed distraction and comfort to the children and their families."
Read the Letter
"We are so thankful for your generous gift to our son Miguel Rodriguez. He received his iPad during his appointment and he was so happy in the hospital watching his favorite music videos. He love it he couldn't stop smiling and it made it so much easier during his chemotherapy today! Thank you! 💛"
"I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Childhood Leukemia Foundation for their generous iPad donation. The iPads have been a huge asset to the Embrace Kids Learning Center located at Bristol Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital/The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Our teachers have been able to teach the core subjects and provide additional resources for children with learning disabilities."
Read the Letter
"It is with gratitude and appreciation that I write this letter to you thanking your organization, The Childhood Leukemia Foundation for providing Educational Wish Baskets for our ECF children. Your baskets bring a beacon of light to the faces of our children who are undergoing treatment in the hospital for an extended time. Your baskets are filled with so many wonderful items from pajamas, to toiletries, to games and puzzles.
As you well know, pediatric cancer is a devastating diagnosis and the fact that your organization provides such a meaningful gift is greatly appreciated."
Read the Letter
"As a social worker who contacts numerous foundations on behalf of families, I am very appreciative of the support provided by Childhood Leukemia Foundation. From Hope Binders to Hugs-U-Wear to Educational Wish Baskets to iPads, Kim Wetmore is accessible and responsive to needs presented on behalf of our families. Her responsiveness has gone a long, long way assuaging the anxieties families experience when coping with childhood cancer."
Read the Letter
"Thank you so much for making these lovely wigs available to our patients and families. The families are so relieved that they can get one free of charge to help them begin their journey through cancer treatment."
Read the Letter
"My name is Mariela Magnan and I am the Outpatient Pediatric Social Worker for Northern California Children's Oncology at Sutter Memorial Hospital, Sacramento. I would like to make you aware of the amazing impact you make offering Hugs-U-wear to our patients. Wow! You should see their faces when they receive their Hugs-U-Wear and how proudly our patients wear their hair piece daily. Thank you very much for your assistance, support and dedication to our children. I am honored and fortunate to be able to work with your team."
Read the Letter
"My daughter Savannah was 15 years old when she was diagnosed. She was diagnosed with ALL pre b cell leukemia. She is currently in interim maintenance. She has kept a smile on her face and a positive attitude the whole time. She's an honor student and a cheerleader. She would love it!! And I wanted to let you know that we received a Hope Binder when she first got diagnosed and I still use it today!! It is such a wonderful resource!!! Thank you so much for all you do!!!"
"During the past few years Childhood Leukemia Foundation has been sending our children diagnosed with cancer "Educational Wish Baskets". The Social Workers request these baskets very soon after the child is diagnosed. As you can imagine the first couple of weeks is particularly traumatizing for the child and parent as they learn about the disease and the length of treatment. They are in a state of shock as they try to get questions answered and begin rearranging their lives. Soon this beautiful purple package arrives. I have people stopping me as I attempt to deliver this gift. Comments like, "Wow how pretty, who is that for, what is in itT' I smile as I continue onto the child's room. Unfortunately our rooms are often bland and despite good intention not very attractive. This colorful gift arrives and immediately I see the child's eyes light up. Some say, "is it for me?" This little gift brings much sunshine and "color" into their lives. The parents are surprised too. They want to know, who is expressing this type of care about them. The teenagers love naving the gift-card and begin thinking about what they want. 1don't know whose idea this was but I commend them and commend the foundation for all your efforts."
Read the Letter
"Hello Childhood Leukemia Foundation, I just wanted to thank you for my Hope Binder. My social worker delivered it after I asked her in the hospital for one. I had papers all over the place and so I was able to toss all the loose folders and organize everything into yours. I love the hole punch so I could sit in clinic and accomplish it while waiting for my son (turned 6 yesterday) to recover from bone marrow aspiration and spinal. We just reached consolidation. I heard the Educational Wish Baskets are really fun – hope he is able to get one down the road. 😉 The social worker said they are great on a hard day. The phone card was wonderful, I gave it to my Mom who lives in FL so she can call us as she doesn't have long distance on her phone – she is 81. It helps her feel like she is not so far away. The Hope Binder is GREAT!"
"I want to thank you all so much for granting Camden a wish basket. We have come to a place in his treatment where all of our spirits are a little bit down (Delayed Intensification). Camden has been in the hospital on a weekly basis for almost a month. Although the hospital stays have been short (24hrs), it still takes it toll on the whole family. (Camden has 3 siblings.) At each hospital stay, I have tried to have a little "surprise" for him in order to brighten his day. This past week, I totally forgot about the prize, and when we got to the hospital Camden was asking what his surprise was…Uh oh…Mom forgot! A little while later, Jamie, our child-life specialist reminded me that she had the Childhood Leukemia Foundation Educational Wish Basket for Camden in her office! What perfect timing! Camden was SO excited about the $50.00 gift card. He LOVES Legos, so naturally that is what he chose for his gift. Thank you for being willing to brighten the day of a 6 year old, who is on a tougher road than most of us will ever have to face! May God Bless Your Generosity."
"Thank you so much for Trip's wish basket! Trip was diagnosed pre- B cell ALL Dec 26 of last year. Since induction, he had been in the hospital twice for severe pnuemonias, one resulting in a two hour operation to scrap out a huge empyema in his right lung, the other just in September being cause by H1N1. He was the first registered case of H1N1 in Utah this flu season! Although he has had almost 12 months of chemo, he was never had a negative MRD, so rather than take the risk of waiting for a relapse, we decided on a bone marrow transplant. Not finding a viable donor, our oncologists searched out a viable cord blood. He was also chosen to be in a study of new treatment involving an extra transplant of placental cells to aid in the engraftment of the cord blood cells. He is one of four ever to have had this addition transfusion. It's cutting edge but if it works like they think it will, the patients will engraft up to a week earlier, thus cutting down on GVH and other potential side effects. So far Trippy had been the model patient, and WBCs have been seen in his blood tests already- it's only been 15 days so things really are going well. His birthday is tomorrow, so we all have our fingers crossed that tomorrow will be the day! Regardless, being from Rick Springs, Wyoming, even when he is cleared to leave the hospital we will still have at least two months here in Salt Lake City.
It's been difficult to be away from home, mommy, and sister but he knows this is going to save his life. Your gift will help the time waiting after hospital go by faster- it's already burning a hole in his pocket! Thank you again. It means a lot!"
"Our 4 yo daughter Brianna was a recipient of a wish basket. We don't know who put it in, but we do know that it made her last stay in the hospital so much more fun! She especially enjoyed the light up ball and the gift card. The attached picture is of all the goodies Brianna was able to get at Target. She really cleaned up in the toy dept because of the after Christmas clearance and she was very excited to get a pretty new headband! A big thank you to those of you who put these baskets together and to those who donate to make it possible!"
"Thank you so much to the Childhood Leukemia Foundation for sending Blaine his Educational Wish Basket. Blaine was diagnosed with ALL B cell on October 7, 2014. He is currently in the consolidation stage of his chemotherapy treatment. This will be an intense treatment for the next 8-10 weeks.
When the basket arrived at the clinic, the smile on his face was priceless. It took all of his worries away and he was so excited about all of the games that came in the basket. He also said that he is very excited about the gift card that he received as well.
Once again, we would like to thank the Childhood Leukemia Foundation for making our little boy smile!"
"Thank you so much for my wish Basket! My name is Kaylee I'm 3 years old and I was diagnosed with ALL leukemia, my days in the hospital have not been easy but I'm a strong little girl and I'm struggling to get ahead and beat leukemia. My 26 days in the hospital have taught me many things one of them is that I met other children with the same disease and I feel lucky for all the support that I am getting to at hospital. I am a fighter and I will beat this!"
"We can't thank you enough for blessing our daughter, Gianna with her own IPad. I wish I filmed her reaction when she got it at the hospital so you could see how much joy you brought to her. She screamed with excitement and couldn't wait to show all the nurses and doctors. She already has had many hours of enjoyment with it. Thank you for your prayers, kindness and generosity. Love and Blessings"
"Dear Childhood Leukemia Foundation, Our Social Worker, Laura, submitted a request for my son to receive an iPad. He received it on Tuesday, and is beyond excited. This gift will be such a help to Parker. Beyond the games that he made sure to download first, he can connect with his 5th grade class again. Since he had his bone marrow transplant in November, he has been kept mostly at home and he really misses being in class and seeing his friends. Now he can Skype or Facetime and feel like he is actually part of the class again. Just in these two days, his mood has brightened. I'm putting a picture of Parker with his teacher as they set up Facetime. I never thought that he would be so excited to do school work. Thank you so much. You are making a huge difference in these kid's lives."
