We Make Kody Smile

Kody is a 12 year old boy who loves math!  He lives in Knox, Indiana with his family and last November 2015, Kody was experiencing severe headaches along with nausea and vomiting.  At the end of January 2016, Kody’s Mom, Denise, received the terrible news that Kody had a tumor in his 4th ventricle.  Thankfully the tumor has been removed and Kody began radiation therapy at the Chicago Proton Center in March.  During this time, Kody and his Mom have been staying at the RMH in Winfield.  While at the House, they heard about the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope.  Denise said, “Kody told me he would like a set of red Beats headphones and I went to your website to fill the gift request form.  It was an easy process.” 

Once we received the request, we immediately contacted Denise and confirmed what Kody wanted and ordered his red Beats.   On Monday, March 14th after hosting the Music Night at RMH in Winfield, we presented Kody with his Red Beats and he gave us all a big Smile!

We were able to honor Kody's gift request because people like YOU are helping us with AAFH mission!  Our goal is to give the gift of music and art to other teen and young adult patients as they go through treatment! Thank you for your support. 

"Devon Strong!"

We met Devon at the Ronald McDonald House near Central DuPage Hospital, where he received his cancer treatments. He’s friends with one of our gift recipients, Holden, who received a green saxophone last week.  I personally met Devon during one of our Art Nights, where School of Art sponsored our event to paint sneakers with the guests at the Ronald McDonald House. It was a fun event! Check it out. Here’s a picture of Holden and Devon sitting up front with our flute gift recipient Andra standing to my right.

Devon is an artist at heart. He writes poetry and draws. Since I’m also a writer, I asked him, “Maybe you can send me one of your poems and we can share it on the Alyssa foundation’s Facebook page for everyone?” As you know, I want people like you to read the stories about the people we help. To me, this has always been a very important part of our mission.

Devon replied, “I haven’t really written anything in awhile.”

Devon’s Mom, Michelle, interrupted and said that Devon certainly writes poetry. She said, “I have a poem that he wrote and I framed it.” She made the gesture of a picture frame with her hands while telling me about the poem.

I knew that the poem meant a lot to Michelle judging by the look on her face. I had no idea what the poem was about, but as an artist, I knew the words he wrote meant a lot to his Mom. I felt that Devon and Michelle were really close. They even wore matching t-shirts that read DEVON STRONG.

You’re strong Devon! We hope that you enjoy listening to music on your Beats Studio headphones while making art!

Thanks to our individual contributors and sponsors who donated to make this happen. If you want to help us continue our mission, please click here to donate musical instruments, art supplies, and funds.

Give Hope.

Holden’s Jazzy Gift!

Holden is an amazing 18 year old boy receiving radiation treatment at the Proton Center in Winfield, IL. Holden is being treated for Oligodendroglioma, a type of brain tumor. Despite the ordeal this tumor and the treatments have put him through; Holden is kind and has a serious love for music ever since he started playing when he was in the fifth grade. The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope first met Holden during a Music Night at the Ronald McDonald house in Winfield, IL.  When he got to high school the band classmates he came to know well, have encouraged and helped support him ever since being diagnosed.  

We met Holden and his mom, Cindy, at the Ronald McDonald House in Winfield, IL on March 4th, 2016. Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope Board members; Tyler Willer, Dan Modjeski and Yoli Alvin went to present Holden with a brand new shiny green saxophone he had requested. Holden has been playing the saxophone for years now. The shiny green saxophone looked majestic and Holden could not wait to get his hands on it. We helped take the instrument out of the case, construct it, and gave the professional white playing gloves to Holden. Luckily Holden knew just what to do to set the instrument up properly. He started by taking the reed out and breaking it in, he knew that the reed would need to be softened up to make it easier to play. Once the saxophone was set and the reed was broken in, Holden played a scale of notes to the 8 of us around.

 Holden continues treatment through the next few months. Holden will be going home to Indiana where he will be reunited with his fellow band members, ultimately being able to use the new sax marching alongside his classmates. We offer our prayers and remain hopeful that Holden’s treatments will come to a close this spring. We hope to hear Holden play a song with the new green saxophone in the near future. 

Art Night at RMH in Sunny Florida

The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) held its first Art Night at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday, February 26, 2016. 

About 12 young patients of all ages and some of the parents participated in the handprint Sculpey clay activity.  These young patients are being treated at the All Children’s Hospital – Johns Hopkins Medicine Center which is about a couple blocks from the hospital.

The Sculpey clay kits were donated by Ms. Denice Steinmann, Chairman and owner of Polyform company which is located in Elk Grove Village, IL. 

We are very appreciative of Denice’s generous donation of the Polyform products.  We also want to thank our Executive Secretary, Denise Perez-Cabrera, her husband Johnny Cabrera, Denise’s brother, Bernie and his wife Connie for volunteering their time to this Art Night.  All the volunteers said they had a wonderful time and were glad to be part of this Art Night in Sunny Florida!

The patients made their own handprint with the easy-to-use and soft oven bake clay which only took 30 minutes to bake and harden. When they got to see their clay handprints, the young patients expressed their joy in having participated in the Art Night event.

The entire Blevin family - Jennifer (Mom), Tom (Dad), Austin (patient) and Dalton (brother) were able to enjoy this Art Night together!  Dad said, “we love what Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope is doing”! 

Austin said he will be thinking about the type of music gift he wants before submitting his gift request to AAFH.

Dancing to Give HOPE!

Over 60 people came from across Chicagoland for dancing and dance lessons at the Fred Astaire Franchise Studio in Buffalo Grove, Illinois on Friday, February 19th.   The dance event was sponsored by the owners of the Fred Astaire franchise in Buffalo Grove.  This event was to benefit the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope's mission of providing music and art to children fighting a cancer or other life threatening disease.

Eight professional dancers generously donated their time in the evening to entertain and teach the benefit attendees a variety of dances.  There were all ages represented at this event including a young 14 year old dancer who has been regularly dancing at the studio.

Two thirds of the attendees had never heard or attended an Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope event.  Many of the guests after being informed of the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope, said they support our cause and mission.  They expressed their belief in the power of healing through Music & Art.  Many of the guests echoed the same sentiment, “we want to help other teens and young adults by bringing them joy and hope as they cope and undergo their cancer treatments.” 

After the dance, our guests enjoyed delicious appetizers provided by The Fresh Market in Geneva, Illinois.  Everyone had a wonderful time and are looking forward to the next Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope event!

Andra - Our 1st Flute Gift Recipient of 2016!

Andra is a sweet 9 year old girl receiving treatment at the Chicago Proton Center in Warrenville, IL.  Andra is being treated for Oligodendroglioma, a type of brain tumor.  Despite the ordeal this tumor and the treaments have put her through, Andra exhibits a love of life and music which helps her persevere through this journey to full remission.

I met Andra and her Dad, Christian, at the Ronald McDonald House in Winfield, IL on February 18, 2016.  Yoli and I went there and joined with Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope Board members Ashlee Schneider and Monica Balc to present Andra with the flute she had asked for.  With help from Ashlee and her husband, Glen Schneider, also a Board member, we were able to obtain the flute as a donation from Quinlan & Fabish Music Co.  Upon opening the case which held the flute, Andra radiated much happiness in simply holding in her hands a flute of her own!  Ashlee, being a musician and flute player herself,  showed Andra some of the basics in playing the flute and also presented her with an instructional book on flute playing.  Andra and her Dad had visited the American Girl store the previous day and had brought home an American Girl flute player...she had her own flute!  So Andra and her American Girl now have their own flutes!

Andra continues treatment through the end of this month February 2016.  After that she gets to go home in Michigan.  She'll be surrounded by a loving and supportive family, including 4 younger siblings and her parents.  We offer our prayers and remain hopeful that Andra's journey will end positively.  We hope to hear Andra play a song or two on her flute in the near future.

Music Night at RMH with Children & Dads!

The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) held another Music Night at the Ronald McDonald House in Winfield on Thursday, January 28, 2016.  The young patients we met are being treated at the Proton center in Warrenville, IL and receiving radiation therapy.

Toy xylophones were given to all the young patients. These toy instruments were donated by Lilia Olvera Martinez-Gerente De Ventas at Comersilver and shipped all the way from Mexico City.  Young people of ages 3 through 19 participated in the Music Night.

It was great to see Dads come to the Community Room and have fun watching their sons & daughters play the musical instruments and enjoy the sounds made by the many instruments.  One Dad even gathered a few of the children to play together.  This was caught on camera and you can see the big smiles on the childrens’ faces.   

A young patient, Andra, asked if we had a flute because she has been playing a plastic toy flute at home and has always wanted to play a real brass one.  Yoli shared the AAFH mission and told Andra we could get her one.  When she heard this, she looked at her Dad and had a big smile.  Dad said “Andra desires a flute and can’t wait to learn how to play it”.  Dad immediately completed the Gift Request form.  One of our Board members, Glen Schneider is working with Quinlan and Fabish Music Company to fulfill Andra’s gift request.  Andra’s mom, Ligia, said Andra is very excited to hear AAFH will be honoring her gift request.

Art Kits donated to Florida Hospital & RMH

The first delivery of Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) and toy music xylophones arrive at the All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkin Medicine & Ronald McDonald House in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

On Friday, January 15, 2016, Carmen Ziegler (Advisory Board Member), Lupe Brueck and Nadine Liceaga (AAFH Volunteers) joined Yoli Alvin (AAFH President) to promote the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope and share Alyssa’s mission with Kristin Maier the Child Life Director at the All Children’s Hospital and Karen Matthews, the House Manager at the RMH. 

Kristin emailed us and said she shared Alyssa’s SAKs with Dara Jackson who is the All Children’s hospital Inpatient Hemoc/Onc Child Life Specialist.  Dara told Kristin she loved the Art Kits and Kristin said, “don’t be surprised if you get a request for more of Alyssa’s SAKs soon!”

With the delivery of Alyssa SAKs and the toy musical instruments, the All Children’s Hospital and the RMH in St. Petersburg can now share Alyssa’s love of Music and Art with teens and young adult patients.

Thank you to Kristin and Karen for a warm welcome and giving us the opportunity to bring a piece of Alyssa’s legacy to their young patients and their families through the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope!

Making Children Smile at RMH in Chicago

On Sunday, January 10th we made breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago for families with children who are being treated at Lurie Children's Hospital. The AAFH Team was there six months ago and many of the same volunteers came out to join us to support an organization that welcomed us while Alyssa was going through cancer treatments.  The RMH also welcomed Alyssa while she was at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. for physical therapy.

During our meal prep, the kitchen was busy with volunteers making chocolate chip pancakes, French toast, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and breakfast burritos. When the food was ready, the families got in line and the children received toy musical instruments (xylophones and small guitars) sent from Yoli and Nancy's (Alyssa's Godmother) friend Lilia Olvera.  Our photographer, Jayne, caught a few of the childrens' excitement and smiles as they selected one of the toys of their choice.

The AAFH volunteers also had a chance to enjoy breakfast together and go up to the rooftop with Yoli to visit Alyssa's brick memorial.  It was a very busy morning full of love, joy and hope for the patients and families we met.

Give Hope.
www.alyssaalvinfoundationforhope.org

Evin received his Launchpad Pro instrument today!

Today I had the pleasure of delivering Evin’s musical instrument. I personally reached out to his family after reading about his journey with cancer on Facebook.

Evin was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on May 15, 2015. His Mom, Mari, keeps everyone updated regarding Evin’s hospital visits and treatments through a Facebook page titled “Prayers for Evin Alexander / Evin’s Journey & Battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma” (link shared below).

Cancer is often described as a ‘battle’. Evin’s family thinks of it as a battle and I can attest that there is no other way to describe it. From my personal experience with the Alvin family, each and every day was a battle. We were fighting off our fears. We were fighting off our doubts. And just like all the families affected by cancer, we were fighting for our loved one.

Something that amazes me about Evin’s friends and family is the tremendous support that they have for his battle. I think giving support, in whatever form, is crucial because these children and many others are in the fight of their lives. They really need our help.

Before the formation of the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope, all that we could really do to help young cancer patients was to be there for them, send them positivity, and maybe even pray for them. But, after being inspired by Alyssa’s journey, we’ve taken on a new battle and a new mission: to give the gift of music and art to children and young adults with cancer.
 

Music and art is so important for the healing process, especially to someone undergoing cancer treatments. Afterall, music and art are made of dreams, and we want young cancer patients to dream big and dream often. We want them to express themselves through art. We want them to feel joy while playing a musical instrument. And like our other gift recipients, we want them to tell their personal story through music and art.
 

Evin hopes to create some awesome electronic music using the musical instrument we gave him. Jokingly, I asked him, “What’s going to be your DJ name?” He just laughed. I’m sure he’ll be making some great electronic music and we look forward to sharing that with you in the future.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Novation Launchpad Pro, it’s a really awesome musical instrument. It’s so different from the other instruments we’ve given but we’re glad Evin wanted one of these. Check out this YouTube video to see how it works:

Pretty cool huh? We wanted to make sure that Evin received his instrument before he starts chemotherapy again on Thursday. If you’d like to support Evin, please visit his Facebook page by clicking on the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/EvinStrongTeamEvin/?fref=ts

If you’d like to help us give more musical instruments and art supplies to children and young adults with cancer, please click here to visit our donate page.

Give Hope.

-Kevin Cervantes

Everglow (Live) by Coldplay

The light that you left me will everglow...

This is a live version of Everglow from Coldplay's new album A Head Full of Dreams. I'd like to dedicate this song to Alyssa. Thank you for the lessons and the dreams. ∞

"Oh they say people come
They say people go
This particular diamond was extra special
And though you might be gone
And the world may not know
Still I see you celestial

Like a lion you ran
A Goddess you rolled
Like an eagle you circled
In perfect purple
So how come things move on
How come cars don't slow
When it feels like the end of my world?
When I should but I can't let you go?

But when I'm cold, cold
When I'm cold, cold
There's a light that you give me
When I'm in shadow
There's a feeling you give me, an everglow

Like brothers in blood
Sisters who ride
Yeah, We swore on that night
We'd be friends 'til we died
But the changing of winds
And the way waters flow
Life as short as the falling of snow
And now I'm gonna miss you, I know

But when I'm cold, cold
In water rolled, salt
I know you're always with me
And the way you will show
Cause you're with me wherever I go
And you give me this feeling, this everglow

What I wouldn't give for just a moment to hold
Yeah, I live for this feeling, this everglow
So if you love someone, you should let them know
Oh, the light that you left me will everglow."