Celebrating More Milestones

This month two of our social programs hit big milestones. We have given 200 laptops to teens battling cancer through our Laptops for Love program and we have now celebrated our 50th Heroes Milestone.

The 200th laptop went to a young man who turned 16 this month. He was diagnosed with ALL in August 2006 and relapsed on April 2009. He is a good student and loves school but will not be able to return to school until at least January 2010. He recently had a bone marrow transplant and will remain in the hospital for several more weeks. His laptop will allow him to stay connected to his studies and hopefully lift his spirits during his road ahead. Laptops for Love was started in 2005 and the inspiration came from co-founder Jenny when she and her husband Andrew purchase a laptop for a teen with cancer they met in the hospital when Allie was sick. Today we deliver laptop to teens that are experiencing long hospital stays or are homebound and unable to attend school. The laptops help these teens stay up with their school work as well help them to stay in touch with family and friends, while in many cases, in isolation.

The 50th Milestone was a birthday celebration for a little girl turning 11, who was diagnosed with AML in December 2008 and had a bone marrow transplant in February 2009. She had an underwater themed party complete with seafood, fish and sea creature decorations and even a Little Mermaid Costume for the birthday girl. Heroes Milestone was started in 2007, by Christi Disch, in memory of her friend Kira. Kira was diagnosed with cancer just before her high school graduation. Unable to attend her own graduation, Christi and friends brought a graduation party to her! In her memory, Christi created Heroes Milestones, to help cancer patients celebrate the milestones in their lives. Heroes Milestones helps families celebrate if they are stuck in the hospital, or even if they just can't afford to because the medical bills are so overwhelming. The celebrations can include birthday parties, Quinceneras, proms, graduations, and even Celebration of Life parties for a dying child. This program will continue Kira's legacy by helping other children find happiness in celebrating their milestone events.

We look forward to delivering many more laptops and milestones!