Posted by Laura Meijere Cristanelli
Dreams Can Come True
With grants received from the NY Rotary Foundation, The Childhood Cancer Society is able to support the dreams of children such as Angelina whose dream became true, when, after completing an aggressive round of radiation therapy, she was able to live the magic of the Universal Theme Park in Florida. RCNY’s Tommy Head is creator of the Society.
more about Tommy and the Society inside.
Supporting The Childhood Cancer Society

It all started with the “vision” of a 16-year¬-old Tommy Head, who realized the importance of having the support of family while being evaluated for childhood leukemia at 7 years old. This was a life changing experience for Tommy and later motivated him to create Childhood Cancer Society www.childhoodcancersociety.org, a 501(c)(3) volunteer run non-profit organization.

Tommy Head has been a member of the Rotary Club of New York since 2013 and served on the Board of Directors from 2016-present. Tommy will become the 2nd Vice President for the year 2019-2020.

“Children are diagnosed with cancer all too frequently” explains Tommy “Often their parents are not able to afford proper medical care, and sometimes, not even the basic necessities their child deserves. The mission of Childhood Cancer Society is to help these children receive proper care and to make their battle with cancer a more tolerable one”

Childhood Cancer Society works mainly with children that receive treatment in New York City. The organization helps families struggling with medical expenses and transportation costs. It also provides gifts and wish style donations to foster a mindset that is optimal for healing. Since February of 2019 Childhood Cancer Society has become an official Wish Granting partner with Give Kids the World Village, a resort in Central Florida that provides vacations to children with critical illnesses and their families. For an administration fee covered by Childhood Cancer Society, this partnership provides its families with spectacular lodging, a community of other children battling illnesses, and a remarkable partnership with Disney & Universal’s theme parks in Florida.

With grants received from the New York Rotary Foundation since 2016, Childhood Cancer Society has been able to continue its mission of> helping families battling cancer. With last year’s grant, the organization was able to help with medical bills & transportation costs for several local families, as well as organize a “luncheon pizza party” at Chef David Burke’s restaurant Woodpecker’s. Although it was not officially opened yet, Chef David Burke offered his restaurant to Childhood Cancer Society and taught the kids how to make their own customized pizza.

Earlier this year, Childhood Cancer Society was also able to surprise one of its kids, Angelina, with a trip to Give Kids the World Village for “the best week of her life”. She had just completed an intense round of radiation therapy to treat a very aggressive form of Neuroblastoma cancer. The surprise trip was a dream come true for this brave little girl and her family!

“Children are extraordinarily resilient. If we create an environment where families can focus on their child’s recovery while providing excitement and hope for the future, then defeating childhood cancer becomes increasingly more likely. Continued support from Rotary allows us to foster this environment and it is greatly appreciated by our children and their loved ones.” concludes Tommy.

According to Theodore Perednia, President of the Rotary Club of New York, “It is a high priority for the Club to support children and families in need in our city. We’re glad that this partnership with the Childhood Cancer Society enables us to reach out to the families for whom this support is most needed”