SING FOR HOPE!

SING FOR HOPE
SING FOR HOPE

 

SING FOR HOPE: An All-Star concert presented by Cara Samantha to raise money for David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation!

SUNDAY OCTOBER 5th 2014, 2pm-6pm
Toshi’s Living Room at The Flat Iron Hotel, 1411 Broadway, NY, NY 10001
Performers from Broadway, American Idol and more!

Please pre-purchase your tickets by visiting: SING FOR HOPE                         $22 in advance, including one free raffle entry ($5 value)                                                      $20 at the door, raffle entries sold separately                                                                            100% of ticket and raffle sales PLUS 20% of all food and beverage purchases will be donated back to David’s Dream & Believe on behalf of Toshi’s Living Room.

WHY? From: Cara Samantha

In 2013 my cousin Jamie passed away at just 35 years old from Stage 4 Breast Cancer leaving behind her husband Glenn and three delightfully inquisitive kids Kyle, Alyssa and Brandon, all under 8yrs old. Luckily, David’s involvement in Jamie’s journey allowed us to have a wonderful party celebrating Jamie before she passed. She was showered in love and kindness from over 250 family members, friends and strangers. We also managed to raise about $30,000 for her and her family in her final days. David Caldarella was an integral part in making this happen and we are all forever grateful.

Just one month after Jamie left us, her brother Brian was diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL). Multiple trips back and forth from NJ to Sloan Kettering, hospital stays, hotel overnights, treatment and more make for some hefty bills and luckily David stepped right in again to offer as much assistance as he could. Jamie and Brian are just two people from one family. One family who means the world to me, but one family that even David’s foundation can only do so much for. He is constantly helping people of all ages fighting all kinds of cancer find hope in their struggle by easing some of their financial burdens and giving them a little more light in their life. The more money we can raise for David’s foundation, the more families he can help thrive.

 

Please join us in NYC as we raise money to give back to a wonderful foundation whose mission brings hope and happiness to families fighting cancer in the New Jersey area. If you are unable to attend, please consider donating any amount and helping us spread the word.

 

ROCKTOBERFEST Wrap-Up!

Rocktoberfest
Rocktoberfest

 

We were approached by some members of the Beach Haven Moose Riders last night while we were putting the finishing touches on an absolutely beautiful and amazing 2nd Annual Rocktoberfest! The sentiment was the same and it was one of shared disappointment with the final $ total. Our friends at the Beach Haven Moose Riders have set extremely lofty goals for themselves and their partnership with David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation. Their lofty goals can only be matched by their enormous hearts! We informed our friends rather quickly that they’re making a HUGE impact in the lives of our families battling a cancer diagnosis! A tank of gas to and from the doctors/treatments can be a heavy burden for a family battling cancer! Rocktoberfest presented by our friends at the Beach Haven Moose Riders to benefit David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation raised approx. $9,000.00 yesterday, which will not only provide gas cards for our families battling cancer but also: medical bill assistance, rent/mortgage assistance, utilities assistance, grocery gift cards & incidentals.

The physical and emotional toll on the cancer patient and their caregivers are relentless. However, it becomes even worse when you consider the financial burden of a cancer diagnosis.  A recent study in the Journal of Oncology Practice titled: Impact of Financial Burden of Cancer on Survivors’ Quality of Life?, concluded Increased financial burden as a result of cancer care costs is the strongest independent predictor of poor quality of life among cancer survivors! It’s clear that financial strain has a very powerful impact on a cancer patient’s perception of well-being. David’s Dream & Believe is only able to support our families battling a cancer diagnosis because of events like this one!

We could not be happier or more proud as an organization to partner with an amazing group of individuals dedicated to giving back to the community like our friends at the Beach Haven Moose Riders! We would also like to thank: Beach Haven Moose Lodge #175, The Dutchman’s Brauhaus, Shop Rite Manahawkin, Party Crashers, Wealth Management Group, The Wandering Gypsea, Fritz Electric, The 559, Wildcard and Generation Dream. Generation Dream is the youth sub-group of David’s Dream & Believe committed to supporting our families battling cancer and generating a ripple effect of kindness, hope & love!

Last but certainly not least, thank you to our incredible supporters who attend our events and make the decision time and time again to donate your hard earned money to assist our families battling cancer. This is a gesture that never goes unrecognized in our eyes and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

 

ROCKTOBERFEST presented by Beach Haven Moose Riders

Rocktoberfest
Rocktoberfest

 

Please join us this Saturday September 20th at the Beach Haven NJ Moose Lodge 1575, 120 Rt. 72 East, Manahawkin NJ 08050 between 1-6pm for the 2nd Annual Rocktoberfest presented by Beach Haven Moose Riders to benefit David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation with special guests: Fritz Electric, Wildcard and The 559!

$25.00 per person and kids 12 & under are free! There will be a bouncy house, video game trailer and face painters for the kids. Food, beer, wine, incredible auction items and LIVE Music! You can purchase tickets in advance at the Beach Haven Moose Lodge or purchase tickets day of event!

Our youth group called Generation Dream will be at the party selling t-shirts. Please join us on Saturday for a fun-filled family event that benefits our local families battling a cancer diagnosis!

Thank you to our friends with the Beach Haven Moose Riders for their continued support with Rocktoberfest and throughout the year!

Survival of the Mills presented by Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Wellness Center

Survival of the Mills
Survival of the Mills

 

We are excited to announce Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Wellness Center in Manahawkin, NJ have agreed to be the Main Event Sponsor for our Survival of the Mills event on October 12, 2014. Owners Kim & John Manzella and their staff have been ardent supporters of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation since the inception of the Foundation. Kim Manzella recently accepted an invitation to join the Board of Directors for David’s Dream & Believe. All of us at the Foundation and our families battling a cancer diagnosis will be well served by Kim’s compassion, kindness, generosity and loving heart for others! We also want to thank our dear friend & Race Director Ross Reynolds at Trident Multisport for creating this unique, scenic and demanding race. We have been asked numerous times throughout the past 4 years, “Why don’t you have a race event to benefit David’s Dream & Believe?” The simple answer is we were waiting for that special event to come along and the right partnerships. We have found both with our 1st Annual Survival of the Mills and partnerships with Trident Multisport & Ocean Acupuncture!

One of Kim Manzella’s first acts after being appointed to the Board of Directors was to create a youth sub-group of David’s Dream & Believe called “Generation Dream.” Generation Dream is a youth group committed to raising awareness & creating fundraising projects for David’s Dream & Believe and generating a ripple effect of kindness, hope and love for New Jersey families battling a cancer diagnosis. Our Generation Dream Team will be heavily involved in this event as well. You will see some of them participating in the 5K race while others will be manning water stations along the race route.

Please visit Survival of the Mills for more information about the race and to register for this unique first time event!

Click on below attachment for more information regarding Sponsorship & Food/Drink opportunities. Please contact David Caldarella at david@davidsdreamandbelieve.org or Kim Manzella at kim@davidsdreamandbelieve.org to reserve your sponsorship!

 

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have!”

 

Sponsorship Form

 

 

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

 

I’ve been messaged and called repeatedly over the past week leading up to Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. “AWARENESS” has become an embattled word lately but I would suggest any awareness that brings attention to the lack of funding for Childhood cancer research is a VERY good thing. We only need to look to the most recent “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” to see the positive results from a successful awareness campaign. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge not only raised awareness for the disease “ALS” but raised an incredible amount of donations to fund future research.

All of us at David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation (DD&BCF) have personally felt the unyielding grief from Childhood Cancer with the loss of some of our dearest friends: Samantha, Rebecca, Gabby, Hannah and Miranda! There’s not a day goes by that I do not think about these amazing and beautiful souls that touched my life in such a special and meaningful way. I understand that sharing a gold flyer on your Facebook page, painting your nails gold for the month or wearing a gold pin may be viewed by some as meaningless or less than effective but I would propose those same ACTIONS could spark a discussion that leads to increased funding for Childhood cancer research. I feel comfortable saying with a high degree of certainty that the families for Samantha, Rebecca, Gabby, Hannah and Miranda believe any discussions or raising awareness that lead to increased funding for Childhood cancer research is not a good thing but a critically valuable tool in eradicating the words Pediatric Childhood Oncologist from the dictionary! AWARENESS brings your attention to a subject that you may not normally be exposed to and in this case it could result in saving the lives of children battling this deadly disease. My Facebook profile picture will be Gold this month as a way for me to raise awareness for the lack of funding for childhood cancer research but it’s also a way for me to remember and honor my friends that I miss so much!

Our youth sub-group called Generation Dream is dedicated to generating a ripple effect of kindness, hope and love for our families in NJ battling a cancer diagnosis. They will also be writing their local, state and federal representatives this month to ask them for increased funding for Childhood cancer research!

 

Sincerely, David