2016 Major Milestones

2016 Major Milestones

2016 Major Milestones:

  1. DDBCF provided direct financial assistance to 244 families, while countless more received emotional support, services and hope.
  2. A record-breaking $215,457.97 in ​Direct ​Financial Grants​ were distributed.
  3. DDBCF established a new Directors of Patient Advocacy Board, consisting of: patients, caregivers and medical personnel.
  4. ​Two new and highly successful DDBCF fundraising events were established in 2016:
    a) The ​Inaugural Frank ​A. Cosimano Memorial ​Golf Classic presented by: Bergen Risk Managers ​and
    b) Shave the Date presented by: Swing Graphics
  5. The incredibly generous team from Informed Mortgage’s planned giving initiative set an all-time DDBCF record for Giving with an astounding $24,375.00 donated in the year 2016!
  6. DDBCF welcomed 2 returning members back to the Board of Directors; Carmen Malatino and Kelly Powers; while three new Board Members Jason Cosimano, Steve Crisalli and former Director of Patient Advocacy Bill Raney were invited to serve as well. ​Office space for the Foundation was secured at 364 North Main Street, Suite 10D in Manahawkin, NJ.
  7. ​Director of Patient Advocacy; Lauren M. Raney (7/28/1977-12/16/2016) was appointed by the Board of Directors as our Inaugural Trustee Emeritus.

2011 – 2016: 763 Families battling a cancer diagnosis have received $621,813.06 in Financial Grants! 

All of us at David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation want to thank our patients and their families for inspiring us each and every day. It was an extremely difficult end to 2016 with the passing of so many loved ones and friends of DDBCF including: Mallory, Anthony, Virginia, Melissa, Michael, Phyllis, Layard, Alice, Patricia and Lauren. Our thoughts, prayers and love remain with all of these families. In the midst of her own battle with cancer, Lauren Raney proudly served as an original member of our Directors of Patient Advocacy Board in hopes that she could offer support to other patients battling this deadly disease. What Lauren may not have realized before her passing on December 16th is that she not only offered our current patients support and hope but lifted the spirits of any and every person that was blessed to have crossed paths with her.. On December 20th 2016, the DDBCF Board of Directors unanimously voted to appoint Lauren M. Raney as our first ever Trustee Emeritus. Lauren will be forever honored for her service as a Director of Patient Advocacy while all of us trust that she will eternally watch over and guide us on this journey.

Thank you to our Executive Partners at Informed Mortgage. Informed Mortgage’s planned giving initiative has set a high standard for charitable giving thanks to the efforts of Stephen, Christopher, Michael, Informed Mortgage Staff and all their customers.

Thank you to our community partners, sponsors, auction donors and volunteers!

Thank you to the parents and kids from our youth group, Generation Dream. This motivated, talented and compassionate group of kids are determined to make a positive impact in the lives of our patients and their families.

Thank you to students from our Southern Regional High School group led by teachers Ms. Rebecca Posch and Mrs Jody McLennan.

Thank you to our community partners, Dawn and Pete from Swing Graphics and Ryan Johnson from Ryan Johnson Photography for their help with photo, images and multiple revisions to content.

A special thank you to our Board of Directors (Steve Crisalli, Dani Corso, Kristin Panzone, Bill Raney, Kelly Powers, Jason Cosimano, Tim Hall) who serve the mission of the Foundation on a 100% volunteer basis!

Please take a minute to look back on 2016 with us in the attached summary of accomplishments. Please know that if you attended one of our events, donated an auction item, sponsored an event, volunteered or made an individual donation – YOU are responsible for providing HOPE to a family diagnosed with cancer that desperately needs our help. THANK YOU! Our Mantra for 2017 is: #WeWill

David Caldarella, Stage IV cancer Survivor

2016 Major Milestones

Patient Advocate Committee

Patient Advocate Committee!

On February 15th 2016, Director Dani Corso and Co-Founder David Caldarella visited Dr. Ai Zhang’s Advanced Public Relations and Social Media Classes at Stockton University. Dr. Ai and her students always deliver an intensely positive discussion surrounding the mission of the Foundation. We are grateful to be working with two awesome student groups again this semester. It was during our February 15th visit that the concept to create a Patient Advocate Committee (PAC) within David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation (DDBCF) was born!

Our Patient Advocate Committee  consists of the very people who inspire us on a daily basis: patients,  caregivers and medical personnel. This PAC will spread awareness on the impact the Foundation has with our families battling cancer because our PAC have witnessed this first-hand. They will also be able to offer support and HOPE to our current families battling cancer that will help the healing process for everybody involved. We asked 7 people to join our Patient Advocate Committee and all 7 responded with a Resounding YES!

We want to welcome: Dawn Aversa, Elizabeth Martinez, Patty Springstead, Susie Buzby, Tina Angers and Lauren & Bill Raney. We have 3 patients, 4 caregivers, 1 oncology nurse navigator and 1 married couple. We are honored to have them join us with such a strong desire to help others and bring light to so many others battling this deadly disease! #ABeaconOfHope

Tina Angers
Tina Angers
Susie Buzby
Susie Buzby
Patty Springstead
Patty Springstead
Elizabeth Martinez
Elizabeth Martinez
Lauren Raney
Lauren Raney
Dawn Aversa
Dawn Aversa
Bill Raney
Bill Raney

Hero of Hope Award | David Caldarella | David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation | Academy of Oncology Nurses & Patient Navigators |

Hero of Hope Nominee David Caldarella
Hero of Hope Nominee
David Caldarella
A Note From David Caldarella, Co-Founder & Executive Director:
I was humbled and honored to hear that I was selected as 1 of 4 finalists for the 2015 Hero of Hope Award by the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators. This nomination is very special because it emanates from Oncology Nurses and Patient Navigators who recognized the critical work and mission of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation. In particular, Elizabeth Martinez from Southern Ocean Medical Center who nominated me and who should be nominated herself! It’s very difficult to hear life and death struggles everyday but it’s a special person that rises above to help. Oncology nurses and patient navigators do that on a daily basis so to be recognized by that same group of amazing individuals is truly overwhelming! The recognition of being nominated is a confirmation for our Board of Directors, Sponsors, Individual Donors and Volunteers that we are making a difference in the lives of our families battling a cancer diagnosis.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long Beach Island Resident One of Four
Nominees for National Survivorship Award

LONG BEACH ISLAND – A Long Beach Island man has been named one of four nominees nationwide for the Hero of Hope Patient Award given by the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+).

David Caldarella was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in April 2010. He learned his cancer was extremely aggressive and had already metastasized from his tonsils to the lymph nodes on the right side of his neck and down his throat.

“The news was upsetting on a number of levels,” says Caldarella. “I was in the best shape of my life and had never smoked. Beyond the physical, it hit me emotionally, socially, and financially. It literally changed my life.”

The next month he underwent a tonsillectomy and biopsy, a right neck dissection and transoral robotic surgery to remove the remaining tonsil and tumor. Chemo and radiation quickly followed.

“What got me through this was my family, friends, faith, the kindness of strangers, and the desire to create a legacy that would benefit others and make my nephew and nieces proud.”

That legacy took shape as David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing financial assistance to people who are battling cancer and can’t afford day-to-day necessities.

“I thought about the foundation constantly,” he says. “It would be 2 or 3 in the morning, and I would be trying to figure out how we would fund it, who we would help, and what it is we would do.”

In November 2010, Caldarella received the “all clear” from his surgeon and spent the next two years growing his foundation, which required overseeing four annual fundraising events.

“By 2013, we reached a breaking point,” he explains. “We surpassed our initial goal to help one or two families a year almost immediately. By the time I went full-time and became a salaried employee of the foundation in 2014, we were helping more than 100 people from across New Jersey annually.”

To date, David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation has helped 400 families and has given more than $400,000 in assistance.

As one of the nominees for the Hero of Hope Patient Award, Caldarella’s story will be featured in the August issue of CONQUER: The Patient Voice Magazine.

Voting to select the winner is now open. The winner of the Hero of Hope Patient Award will be announced in early October at AONN’s sixth annual Navigation and Survivorship Conference in Atlanta. The winner will receive a plaque recognizing his/her contributions to the cancer community as well as a donation of $1,000 made to the charity of his/her choice.

 

About the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators 
The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators, Inc. (AONN+) is the largest national specialty organization dedicated to improving patient care and quality of life by defining, enhancing, and promoting the role of oncology nurse and patient navigators. The organization, which has more than 5,000 members, was founded in 2009 to provide a network for all professionals involved and interested in patient navigation and survivorship care services in order to better manage the complexities of the cancer treatment process. For more information visit www.aonnonline.org.About CONQUER: The Patient Voice Magazine:
CONQUER is the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators’ (AONN+) premier forum for patients with cancer. CONQUER features articles written by and for patients with cancer, survivors, nurse navigators, and other oncology team members. This magazine addresses the issues that patients, their family members, and caregivers face every day in an easy-to-read format. Issues include interviews with patients with cancer, information on access to care, and articles on lifestyle topics such as nutrition, stress management, personal finance, and legal and employer issues. CONQUER also features patient stories that are nominated for the AONN+ HERO OF HOPETM award, which will be presented at the AONN+ Annual Conference. All stories are compiled in a special issue of CONQUER at the end of the year. For more information visit  www.conquer-magazine.com.

About David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation

David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises funds to provide financial assistance and services to families primarily in New Jersey affected by a cancer diagnosis.  David Caldarella, Co-Founder and Stage IV cancer survivor, established David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation in 2010.  His journey of living through Stage IV cancer inspired him to dedicate his life to helping other individuals, affected by a cancer diagnosis.  David spends most of his time being with these families and has been an amazing support person in all their lives.  To date, the Foundation has assisted 325 patients in 4 years, and donated over $300,000 to families afflicted by cancer.  Donations are used towards a multitude of services for the family battling a cancer diagnosis including financial assistance for medications, treatments, transportation, rent, mortgage and utility bills.

For further information, please visit www.davidsdreamandbelieve.org.