“If you could find the sickest kids in a hospital, who go through the most torturous treatment on the road to survival, they would be kids with cancer and blood diseases. Few understand what they and their families endure — and most don’t want to.” — Christine Neitzke, Dragonfly Co-Founder
“I belong to a Facebook groups shoes, where someone from the Philippines contact me about some shoes I had. Turns out he is here at Children’s until June with his daughter who is getting chemo. I told them to ask social worker for Dragonfly’s big blue bag!”
Reprinted with permission: Cancer is relentless. It does not discriminate based on color, race, gender, financial status, or age. It doesn’t stop at just one attempt to steal a life. It divides and mutates in order to deceive the body and accomplish its goal. Cancer tries to conquer a person’s body and destroy the spirit. It causes a person to lose …
March 26 Kaitlin and Chica, from the kids’ TV show ” Sunny Side Up,” share a message to our Dragonflies. The show appears on the TV Network Sprout. For more information about the show, please visit http://www.sproutonline.com/shows/sunny-side-show The Sunny Side Up Show is a live television programming block dedicated to helping preschoolers prepare for the day ahead with its warm, …
We love it when kids help our kids! Yesterday, Sycamore High School held “Fashion for a Cure” benefiting The Dragonfly Foundation. This AMAZING, SPECTACULAR event featured students and Dragonfly kids modeling beautiful outfits. They and the audience that came to support the event and our organization had an incredible time. Many mini-fundraisers were held in advance of the fashion show. …
Reprinted with permission from the Dragonfly mom that wrote this post on our private Facebook page for our Dragonflies. “My favorite (thing people say) is, “You are so lucky this happened when J was a baby so he’ll never remember it.” First, I don’t put the word ‘lucky” into the same sentence that states my child has cancer. Second, he …
As horrific as treatment is for kids, it is also just as bad for young adults and adults. Beyond the physical challenges they must endure, there is isolation, loss, and the devastation of knowing they are missing out on everything. Before age 30, they probably have not met the love of their life, built a nest egg to fall back …
One of our Dragonflies had a birthday party at her home. As any young girl would, she invited her besties. These best friends were all friends she met through Dragonfly, other kids who had endured cancer and bone marrow transplants. With an average of 5 patient/family events A WEEK, our 6,000 sq. ft. patient/family space (“The Landing“) and their hospitalizations, …
Our families are all part of “The Dragonfly Family.” They have come to us because they or an immediate family member, birth to age 30, is/was enduring cancer or a bone marrow transplant. When they registered with us, they thought they were registering with a “non-profit.” They didn’t expect to become part of a FAMILY.
We love it when kids help our kids… we are always so honored when our Dragonflies want to help other Dragonflies. Miss Maya is one such Dragonfly. She is a very talented painter whose work has graced both ceramic and canvas. She also is incredibly adorable…. <3
