Tag: children

  • children
  • Cindy Lynn Sherwin Foundation
  • New Haven
  • Philanthropy
  • Tariq Farid Foundation

Jessica (far left) with Cindy (second from left) along with sisters Lauren and Julie.

When the Tariq Farid Foundation makes a contribution to support a worthwhile cause, I am often given an opportunity to meet the people behind the scenes. And each time I am moved by the dedication and passion of the people involved. That was once again the case when we recently selected the Cindy Lynn Sherwin Memorial Foundation to receive a grant to go toward the creation of a new park in a very needy area of New Haven, Connecticut.

Few people I have met are as dedicated and as passionate about their cause as is Jessica DaSilva. What she has done is simply amazing.

Seven years ago Jessica’s older sister, Cindy, died unexpectedly of an aneurism while training for an Ironman competition. Cindy, who was only 33 at the time, was a triathlete and fitness instructor. As a way to honor her sister’s memory and her dedication to promoting health and fitness, Jessica recently competed in a 100-mile race to raise funds for the Cindy Sherwin Foundation. The foundation was established following Cindy’s death by family and friends as a way to promote Cindy’s passions of fitness, well-being and healthy living.

Jessica was one of only 25 ultra athletes, and one of only three women, who started the 100-mile race last March. If you read her blog, you get a feel for the toll such a race takes on the body . . . and on the mind. Of the 25 athletes who began the race, Jessica was one of only nine to make it to the finish. It took her 27 hours and 55 minutes.

The money Jessica raised for her effort will now go toward construction of the Cindy Lynn Sherwin Memorial Playground at an elementary school in a needy area of New Haven, Connecticut.

Jessica said the Foundation approached the City of New Haven about where they should build a park. The city selected the West Rock Author’s Academy, a pre-K – 4th Grade magnet school that serves a large housing project in New Haven. The school offers advanced programs in writing and computer skills, but the children had no access to good physical fitness programs and equipment. Now they will, thanks to Jessica’s love for her sister.

“Cindy had no idea she would have playgrounds named after her or that people would run in her name, and I know for sure she never thought I would run 100 miles,” Jessica wrote on her blog following her grueling run, “… but life is crazy.”

Yes it is, and thankfully there are people like Jessica willing to take on whatever “crazy” challenge comes their way to make our world a better place for others.

 

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  • Charity
  • children
  • disease prevention
  • healthcare
  • Non-profit support
  • Philanthropy
  • Polio
  • Tariq Farid donations
  • Tariq Farid Foundation

One of the great advantages of living in the United States is the access we have to excellent healthcare. Unfortunately, in some parts of the world people still needlessly die because of lack of vaccines for diseases that have been eradicated here.

For example, approximately 1.5 million children die every year from diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, measles and polio that are preventable with vaccines.

Take polio, for example. This horribly debilitating disease attacks the nervous system and can cause muscle weakness, paralysis and even death. While eradicated in the US in 1979, polio has recently reemerged in areas that had been polio-free for years and is currently endemic in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. Angola, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are also experiencing a resurgence in polio cases.

That is why I am excited to announce that The Tariq Farid Foundation is joining forces with the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign to fight polio in developing countries.

Specifically, the Foundation is making a contribution to Shot@Life that will provide 10,000 polio vaccines to children.

As Shot@Life Director Devi Thomas said in announcing our contribution, the world is close to eradicating polio. It is my hope that our support will play a role in putting us that much closer.

The mission of the Shot@Life campaign is to educate, connect and empower Americans to help protect children in developing countries from vaccine-preventable diseases, as well as provide life-saving vaccines to children in need. If you would like to learn more about Shot@Life or to donate, fundraise or advocate, I encourage you to visit the organization’s website by clicking here.

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Seizing a chance to Pay It Forward

  • Charity
  • children
  • families
  • Non-profit support
  • Philanthropy
  • Smillow Cancer Hospital
  • Tariq Farid donations
  • Tariq Farid Foundation
  • Tommy Fund
  • Yale-New Haven Hospital

There is nothing more devastating than learning that a family member has cancer; especially if that family member is a small child. I know this first-hand because it happened to my family shortly after we had moved to the United States.

At the age of four, my youngest brother was diagnosed with leukemia. The entire family was despondent, grief-stricken and frightened for what the future would hold.

The Tommy Fund provides much needed support for families of children receiving treatment at the Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven.

For any family, the shock of the news and fear of what the future holds is bad enough—but this is often exacerbated by the financial burdens that go along with cancer treatment. The new reality of day to day life is filled with trips and overnight stays at the hospital.

Parents often have to choose between taking time off from work to comfort their sick child at the hospital or risk not being able to pay rent or mortgage. In addition to medical costs, there are also often travel and housing costs. Our family struggled with all of these issues during my brother’s illness.

Fortunately for us, there were organizations and volunteers who helped us through this difficult time so that my parents could focus on helping my brother through the treatments that saved his life.

To this day, I have never forgotten those who helped my family through that difficult time. That’s why I am honored that the Tariq Farid Foundation was able to add our support to the Tommy Fund for Childhood Cancer.

The Tommy Fund provides emotional, educational, medical and financial support to families with children who are receiving cancer treatment out of the seventh-floor clinic that bears its name at the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

The assistance the Tommy Fund provides ranges from parking passes for the hospital garage to basic living expenses such as utilities and rental or mortgage payments for families in need. In addition they offer support groups for patients, parents and siblings. They have established a “Quiet Room” as a respite area for parents; provided recreational equipment for children receiving treatment; and they sponsor annual holiday parties for patients, family and staff.

Peter Parente, the board president of the Tommy Fund, told me that they have found it typically takes around six months for families to get used to the new reality of life that includes overnight stays at the hospital, doctor appointments, and keeping a cheerful face on for their child as they suffer from chemotherapy sickness.

Thankfully, there are organizations such as the Tommy Fund ready to ease the burden to enable the parents to focus on supporting their sick child and adjust to life in and out of the hospital.

Parente explained that the Tommy Fund is almost exclusively volunteer-run and requires only small expenditures for accounting and administrative costs. Their hope is to grow the fund enough to someday support families who are fighting childhood cancer at other Connecticut hospitals.

My hope is that the support the Tariq Farid Foundation has offered will, in some small way, return the favor by helping others receive the type of help our family received when we needed it most. I also hope to bring awareness to this wonderful organization and spur others to support them as well.

To learn more about the Tommy Fund, click here. To donate to the Fund, go here.

 

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