Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Tuesday, May 26, 2015 -- Mattie died 298 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2002. Mattie was two months old and as you can see here... he was born with a a sense of humor. Of course if you asked Mattie's pediatrician, she would have told us that Mattie's smile was simply him passing a gas bubble and that this was not a true smile and expression of happiness. However, from my perspective Mattie was quite engaged with me that day as I was trying to snap a photo of him and I really think he found my antics with the camera down right funny. 



Quote of the day: The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. ~ Albert Einstein

As promised, this week I will be highlighting more photos from the Foundation's Walk on May 17th! This year Mattie Miracle had a record number of Corporate Sponsorships at our Walk! We are thankful to the following 7 companies who stand behind our psychosocial mission and together contributed $16,000 to help children with cancer:

1) IBC
2) ECS
3) Inovalon
4) MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
5) Voxiva
6) Kearney & Company
7) Ostendio

Our "Mattie Miracle" Level sponsor, IBC, had a table at the walk. Tim Spadafore (Chief Operating Officer), Matt Friedman (Manager), and Todd Schuerhoff (Managing Principal) were in attendance and greeted Walk participants. IBC gave out snap bands and mugs as well! IBC was well represented at the Walk, as many of their team members came throughout the day. IBC has been a proud sponsor of the Walk since 2011, for which Mattie Miracle is deeply grateful. 

As our "Mattie Miracle" Level Sponsor, we asked Todd, from IBC, to officially started our Walk by sounding a horn! This was a first for us, but a wonderful tradition we hope to continue. 

Each year we also invite the Child Life Staff from Georgetown University Hospital to set up a table at the Walk. This year, the entire Child Life Staff at the Hospital was in attendance. From left to right: Katie, Jess, Jessica, Nancy (an artist with the Studio G program at the Hospital), and Lerin. 

Lerin is the newest member of the Child Life staff at the Hospital. Mattie Miracle pays Lerin's full salary. Lerin works on the Weekends at the Hospital, which have historically been times in which children did not have access to a child life specialist or to social activities. Lerin's position will be changing all of that! 

This poster highlighted our individual supporters who contributed $500 and higher as well as members within the community who support the Walk and raffle. 

These wonderful girls are Franky, Ellie, and Katie! Ellie (the girl in orange) went to preschool with Mattie and each year Ellie comes to the Walk and highlights one of her beautiful creations. Ellie came up with this flower pot theme herself, painted the pots, and even hand painted the Foundation's logo on the pots. Each flower pot comes with its own packet of Forget me Not seeds and on the packet it reads: "Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear." 

Ellie's enthusiasm is contagious and she has recruited her friends Franky and Katie to assist her! Franky has attended our Walk for the past three years and we look forward to having their participation for many more years to come. 

You should note that Ellie donates 100% of her proceeds to Mattie Miracle and has been doing so for the past five years. Each year Ellie designs something different. She is our Foundation's Top Kid Vendor and we are proud of her. Ellie's "Seeds for Hope" table was very successful as she sold $260 worth of flower pots at the Walk!