Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008. That week we took Mattie to New York City to be evaluated by doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Though things were difficult, this was before Mattie had any of his limb salvaging surgeries. So Mattie could easily walk around and do things for himself. Which he prepared. Between hospital visits, we took Mattie to the famous FAO Schwartz toy store. Mattie did not have a lot to smile about, but seeing the vast array of toys, games, and items peeked his curiosity. A moment of happiness, which will always be remembered.
Quote of the day: Visibility doesn't automatically translate into value, don't just be everywhere, be where you are most needed. ~ Bernard Kelvin Clive
I received a phone call today from a social worker at a hospital in Missouri. Naturally whenever I get connected with someone out of our DC area, I always ask.... 'how did you hear about us?' She explained that she knows other social workers from around the country, and they told her that Mattie Miracle is an "excellent charity." As tonight's quote points out, visibility doesn't translate into value. There are so many non-profits that focus on supporting people with cancer, and even more of these organizations that are well promoted and have great visibility. Perhaps this is something Mattie Miracle can hope for years down the line, but in the mean time I am very happy that where we are needed the most, people know about us!
This social worker told me that it is hard to find non-profits that solely focus on psychosocial care. Yet when she does internet searches, Mattie Miracle kept popping up. So she went to our website and started reading! She is indeed correct, which is what makes Mattie Miracle unique. We are the ONLY national non-profit dedicated to awareness, advocacy, support, and research of childhood cancer. Amazing no?
From our conversation, I realize that this is a social worker who goes above and beyond at her place of work. So much so that she balances her hospital work and than after hours puts together groups of patients and their families and takes them on social outings in the community. Totally unheard of! So in essence she is balancing two jobs for the hospital. She proposed an idea to me which she wants me to consider and is asking for a $5,000 grant to achieve her goal of supporting children with cancer and their families. Given that the focus is psychosocial care, she needed to find a Foundation who was speaking her language, and could potentially fund her.
Thankfully, given our decade long of work in the cancer community, we are well connected with various professionals. So I wrote up her idea and started circulating it around to our researchers and our other social worker contacts. Individuals who work on the national level meeting the training, educational, and professional development needs of the profession. Having these networks is crucial because they know Mattie Miracle and they also know the needs within treatment sites across the country. Therefore they can help us sift through a solid idea from a questionable one.
In any case, today's call reminded me once again, that we learned so much from Mattie. Having gone through his cancer journey provided us with an education I wouldn't wish on any parent. Yet if this is our life circumstance, we might as well do something with all this knowledge. Today's call signaled to me that indeed we are definitely on the right track, meeting a need, and slowly but surely we are becoming an organization that is known for NOT BEING JUST ABOUT THE MEDICINE.
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