Kohl’s – Lemont Store - Assemble Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs)

In September, The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) traveled to the Kohl’s store in Lemont, IL and Batavia, IL to pick up a total of 200 art kits that Kohl’s Associates in Action (Kohl’s AiA) employees prepared during their volunteer events.

While the AAFH purchases and provides the various art materials for the Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs), Kohl’s has been a great partner by taking these art materials and assembling them into the Alyssa SAKs. We pick up the finished Alyssa SAKs after their team of associates have assembled them. We then deliver the Alyssa SAKs to various children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses. The goal is to put a Alyssa Starter Art Kit in the hands young adult patients fighting a life-threatening illness. Additionally, Kohl’s donates $500 to AAFH so that we can continue purchasing more art materials to turn into Alyssa SAKs. This process ensures more opportunities for young patients to experience the joy of creating art with our kits.

At the Lemont store, we met Ann Combes - Manager who shared with us the challenges that her own 21-year-old daughter is experiencing with an as-yet undiagnosed illness. Ann and her family have come to quickly realize the fragility of our health and the importance of charitable work.

We will keep Ann and her family in our thoughts and prayers and express our gratitude to the Kohl’s associate volunteers as well as organizations that are committed to assisting others in their time of need.

We thank Nicole Frederickson - Manager of the Batavia Store and the Associates in Action for volunteering their time to assemble the Alyssa Starter Art Kits once again!

Alyssa’s journey has provided a different perspective on how my family and I view our purpose in this life. Though we would not have wanted this perspective thrust upon us in the way it was, we nevertheless draw inspiration from the way Alyssa lived her brief but beautiful life.

Thank you again to all the supporters of AAFH in helping us bring joy through art and music!

Music Night at RMH near Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield

The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) held a Music Night at the RMH near Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital (CDH) in Winfield, IL on Tuesday, August 27, 2019. We brought various drums and percussion instruments for the patients and their family members to play.

While setting up, a previous gift recipient of AAFH and current patient at the Chicago Proton Center, Tristan, began playing the piano at the RMH beautifully. Since we delivered Tristan his violin three weeks ago, he has been hospitalized at CDH for severe pain he has experienced from his radiation treatments at the Proton Center. Due to this he has not had the chance to begin learning how to play his new violin. He is feeling better now and looking forward to playing the violin.

AAFH also made a donation of 10 Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) that include journals, drawing kits, acrylic and adult coloring books. Jason Chantley, the Live-in-House Manager at RMH, received the Alyssa SAKs and shared with us his involvement with RMH. He told the story of his best friend who, as a young teenager, stayed at an RMH during his cancer treatments. When his friend passed, Jason remembered how the House was a welcome and caring place for his friend.

Jason’s story is an inspiration to all of us. Despite the loss of his best friend, he found a way to help others through his work at the RMH. We are grateful to the caregivers we meet while fulfilling the mission of Alyssa’s Foundation. Together, we are making a difference by bringing joy and hope to young patients and their families during difficult times.

Alyssa Starter Art Kits Delivered to Northwestern Facilities

On Monday, August 26, 2019, Mary Jane Johnson-Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) Board Member made our first delivery of Alyssa Starter Art Kits to Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, IL. Marianjoy is a part of Northwestern Medicine and has a pediatric area which treats patients who have suffered brain tumors or traumatic injuries who are in need of intense treatment. Mary Jane delivered 25 Alyssa SAKs to Brittney Woodruff who is the Childlife Specialist at this facility. Brittney told Mary Jane that it was so nice meet her and thanked her for coming out to Marianjoy. Brittney said, “I’m so excited to utilize those amazing Art kits!!”

On August 5, 2019, Yoli-Alyssa’s mom and President of AAFH made a delivery to the Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University (Northwestern) in Chicago, IL. The delivery of 50 Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) was made to Brynn Fowler-Adolescent Youth Adult Coordinator at Northwestern.

Five different kinds of Alyssa SAKs were delivered such as acrylic and watercolor painting kits, drawing kits, journal kits, and adult coloring book kits. We are happy to partner and continue our annual Alyssa SAKs delivery to Northwestern.

Thank you donors for your generous contributions throughout the year to help us assemble more Alyssa Starter Art Kits for children going through their medical journeys and and allowing us to share Alyssa’s spirit, her love of the arts, and her desire to inspire and help others.

Delivering Gifts to Patients at Hospital Fray Antonio Alcalde

On August 15, 2019, the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope brought joy and hope to two young adults by fulfilling their gift requests at the Hospital Fray Antonio Alcalde in Guadalajara, MX.

Dra. Martha, Board member, delivered a set of headphones to Carmen (18 years old) and an acoustic guitar to Carlos (20 years old). The two young recipients expressed their gratitude for the gifts, but we are also grateful for bringing a smile to their faces.

Bringing More Cheer & Joy to Gift Recipients in Guadalajara, Mexico

The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope brought joy and smiles to children and young adults by fulfilling their gift requests on July 22, 2019. They received musical instruments, headphones and art materials at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara-Juan I. Menchaca and Fray Antonio Alcalde in Jalisco, Mexico.  Yoli, AAFH President, George, Vice-President, Dra. Martha, Board member, and Narciso Razo, volunteer, visited with 15 patients between 11 and 20 years old and delivered their requested gifts: 8 guitars, 3 headphones, 2 keyboards, 1 trumpet and 1 ukulele.  Dra. Martha acquired the musical instruments from local vendors prior to our visit. 

Many of the gift recipients met us at the hospital on their off day from outpatient treatment.  Quite a number of these young patients are facing cancer and other life-threatening diseases and in-patient when we delivered their gifts.  Meeting these young adult patients and seeing their joyful expressions upon receiving their gifts made our trip to these 2 hospitals in Mexico even more worthwhile.  The young recipients and their parents were appreciative of the music and art gifts.  It is us who are most grateful for the opportunity to meet them and bring a smile to their faces and a bit of Hope.   

Headphone Gift Recipients: Ricardo- 20, Noe Diaz- 14 & Mariana - 12;

Keyboard Gift Recipients: Diana -13 & Javier - 17

Trumpet Gift Recipient: Hector - 11

Ukulele Gift Recipient: Maria - 11

Guitar Gift Recipients: Miguel - 19, Marco -16, Oscar-14, Jorge -12, Tania - 12, Rafael -16, Jesus - 16 & Noe Rivera - 18 

 Our deepest thanks to Dra. Martha and Dra. Alma for all their help in arranging our meetings with the gift recipients at the hospitals.  Likewise, our thanks go out to Narciso, our volunteer who accompanied us with gift deliveries to patients at both hospitals.

A Celebration of Life for Alyssa’s 24th Birthday at RMH in Chicago

The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) prepared a lunch, delivered Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) and celebrated Alyssa’s birthday with the resident families and our guests at RMH in Chicago on Sunday, July 21, 2019. The afternoon included a musical performance by the Salcedo Brothers (Diego and Braulio) and a gift of a pair of sunglasses with our Foundation logo was given to everyone who attended.

Daniel Guerrero, Alyssa’s cousin and AAFH Board Member, organized the event and his friends – Chris, Krista, Tim, Lisa, Christina C., prepared a delicious meal which included mixed green salad, pasta salad, meatballs and Italian sausages with cupcakes and fresh fruit for dessert. Much of the food was donated by our volunteers.

After lunch, Alyssa’s family and friends went up to the rooftop where the Salcedo Brothers played Las Mananitas, the Mexican Birthday song, in honor of what would have been Alyssa’s 24th birthday. Yoli, Alyssa’s Mom, ordered 24 painted lady butterflies contained in individual envelopes. George, Alyssa’s Dad, distributed the butterflies to our family and friends who then released them into the Chicago sky overlooking Lake Michigan. Some of the butterflies must have been still groggy from their journey and didn’t take flight immediately, some flew just as far as the plants on the rooftop and others ventured out further.

In her young life, Alyssa ventured far and experienced as much as she could while inspiring many people along the way. She continues to be an inspiration in our lives and she touches many others through the Foundation established in her memory.

We thank all the dear family, friends and volunteers who prepared and cleaned up after the lunch, the Salcedo Brothers, the RMH staff and the families who enjoyed the meals and learned about Alyssa’s love for the visual arts and music.

Music Night at RMH near Loyola Hospital

The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) hosted a music night at RMH near Loyola Hospital in Maywood, IL on Tuesday, July 16, 2019. We brought percussion instruments as well as a ukulele for the young patients and their family members to enjoy.

We arrived around dinner time and met other volunteers who had arrived to prepare the meal for the families. One of the other pleasures that we don’t often mention is the opportunity to meet like-minded people who find value and gratification in donating their time on behalf of others. We exchanged information with two different volunteer groups this evening and discussed the possibility of working together in the future.

Getting back to the music night, though, we also were able to get re-acquainted with a young family that we had met at the same house for a previous Art Night hosted by AAFH. This family travels all the way from Recife, Brazil to get treatment for their toddler daughter that they can’t receive in their home country. The little girl and her young sister had a great time banging away on the drums and other instruments that we brought for them.

We also met a second family who had two school age children that showed interest in and promise with the ukulele. They also experimented with several of the instruments there and it was great to see their lack of inhibition when trying something new.

Every event we get to participate in is a reminder to us that as we give, we also get. We give a little bit of our time but we get to meet so many wonderful people – volunteers, staff, patients, family members and of course the children – and we also get tremendous satisfaction in seeing the smiles as a result of our time together.

Alyssa’s presence and her passion for life is felt at each one of our events.

AAFH Delivers Alyssa SAKs to Delnor Hospital in Geneva

On Monday, July 15, 2019, the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) made a delivery to the Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, IL. A delivery of 25 Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) was made by Mary Jane Johnson - AAFH Board Member to Trina Krischon, Child Life Specialist at Delnor. Trina will be giving the Alyssa SAKs to young patients who are being treated at this hospital on an outpatient basis.

The kits come in different formats to appeal to the different ages and interests of the patients – everything from adult coloring books to drawing and journal kits. Trina mentioned that these art materials are especially appreciated because the hospital has limited items to give the teens and young adults.

We are gratified to know that Alyssa’s spirit continues to positively impact others through her love of the arts.

1st Donation to Shriners Hospitals for Children - Tampa, Florida

Bea Hernandez (Yoli’s cousin), George Alvin (Vice President of Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) and Yoli Alvin (President of AAFH) made a delivery of 50 Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) to Tara Paustian-CCLS Child Life Senior Therapist and Ivelisse Zambrano-Donor Development Assistant at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Tampa on Monday, July 1, 2019. This is our first visit to Shriners Hospitals for Children, and we received a guided tour of the facility by Bob Clifford-one of the Shriners who volunteers his time every Monday.

We delivered six different types of Alyssa SAKs to Shriners Hospitals including journal kits, ocean coloring kits, drawing kits, watercolor art kits, acrylic art kits and color me lunch bags. We had the pleasure of giving some of Alyssa SAKs to children who were there for their appointments. It is great to know that we are sharing Alyssa’s love of art with the children being treated at Shriners. This is the place where one of our art kit recipients, João, was being treated and it is great to spread Alyssa SAKs at more medical institutions where teens and young adults are being treated. The art kits are given to teens and young adult patients with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses.

We thank our volunteers who often assist preparing the Alyssa Starter Art Kits and the donors who provide the young patients with the opportunity to be creative during their medical journey.

Alyssa’s legacy lives on!

Art Night and Delivery of Alyssa Starter Art Kits at RMH near Loyola Hospital

The Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) held an Art Night and delivered Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) near Loyola Hospital in Maywood, IL on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. We brought sculpting clay for the patients and their family members to shape into anything they wanted and paints to color them.

AAFH made a donation of 25 SAKs of various types including journal, drawing and watercolor painting kits. Kaihla, the Evening House Manager at RMH helped us set up for the event and was very glad to receive the kits on behalf of the children and families staying at the RMH. Many of the participants took a SAK with them after creating their clay sculptures during the event.

This was one of the most well-attended art nights we’ve held in quite a while. We never know how many participants will be available but, on this evening, we had over half a dozen youths and at least as many family members creating sculpted forms, painting them and in the process sharing laughter and compliments with one another!

We were fortunate to meet Ish, a young patient from The Gambia, a small West African country, bounded by Senegal, with a narrow Atlantic coastline. He was with us while receiving treatments for his illness and, like little boys everywhere, he had a fondness for action figures. We met a young couple from Fortaleza, Brazil who had 2 beautiful children, a toddler who enjoyed herself immensely and a newborn who was very vocal too. We met others for the first time and got re-acquainted with another Mom from Canada we had met previously while staying at the RMH while her child received treatment at the hospital.

Spring fever was in the air that night and it infected, in a good way, our art participants with creativity and joy. We received much gratitude from the families for our volunteer efforts, but we are the ones who are grateful for the opportunity to share our love of Alyssa and our mission of the AAFH!

AbilityLab Receives 45 Alyssa Starter Art Kits

A delivery of Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) was made to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, Illinois on Monday, May 13, 2019.

Yoli – AAFH President met the Art Therapist- Lynne Linkowski who is part of the Therapeutic Recreation Department (TRD).  AbilityLab has a floor dedicated to Oncology patients and Lynne will make sure they promote our Gift Recipient Program to those young adult patients.  Each day TRD works with young patients who are interested in expressing themselves through music and art. 

We delivered a variety of Alyssa SAKs which included 5 different types of kits: acrylic, watercolor, drawing, journals, and adult coloring books.

The Alyssa SAKs will be available for teens and young adults between the ages of 10 and 21 staying at the AbilityLab.   

We continue to share Alyssa’s love of art and promote the programs offered by Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope!

AAFH Delivers Alyssa SAKs to São Paulo, Brazil

On Monday, May 6, 2019, Claudia Martin de Goncalves and her husband, João Paulo, were accompanied by their friend, Verena, as well as Yoli, President of the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope (AAFH) in delivering 30 Alyssa Starter Art Kits (SAKs) to Casa Ronald McDonald in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil*.

*Disclosure: Travel expenditures, i.e., airfare and lodging expenses, were not paid by the AAFH.

Almost a year ago, Yoli and George met Claudia and her son, João Pedro “JP”, who were staying at Ronald McDonald House East in St. Petersburg, Florida. JP participated in the afternoon Art Activity sponsored by AAFH and a friendship with JP and Claudia was born.

In mid-April of this year, Claudia and JP, returned to Florida for a follow-up visit for JP’s medical condition at Shriners Hospital in Tampa, FL. While staying at the RMH East in St. Petersburg they reunited with Yoli.

In preparation for the trip to São Paulo, Claudia contacted Casa Ronald McDonald in Campinas, São Paulo as well as the Boldrini Children’s Center, a children’s hospital with a large hematology/oncology patient base.

Upon our arrival at Casa Ronald McDonald, we were greeted by the Manager, Elen Mirian Casonato, and her Assistant, Daniella, who gave us an extensive tour of the facility. This RMH has a capacity for 28 residents and on the day of our visit, there were 23 rooms being occupied by families with sick children. Elen expressed her gratitude for the delivery of the Alyssa Starter Art Kits which included various types such as journals, drawing and adult coloring book kits. As can be seen from the pictures, the Alyssa SAKs were given to youths who clearly displayed their happiness in receiving the art materials.

We are grateful to the Goncalves family for their wonderful work in contacting and coordinating with local staff to organize the visits to the Casa Ronald McDonald and the Boldrini Children’s Center in Campinas and for their warm hospitality during the weekend. Yoli got to spend lots of time with JP and his 3 year-old beautiful little sister.

Claudia and her husband, João Paulo, want to spread the mission of AAFH in their country of Brazil. They embrace the joy of art and music as Alyssa did and want to spread that same joy to other patients in their state of São Paulo.

This personal experience and heartfelt love of this family will forever remain in our hearts and now they too are a part of the Alyssa Alvin Foundation friends and family!

Music Event & Delivery of Alyssa SAKs to RMH East

It was a sunny day on Monday, April 29, 2019 when Alyssa’s parents & founders of the Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope, arrived to hold our first music event at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) East near All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins in St. Petersburg, FL. We brought a variety of percussion instruments such as a music triangle, music sticks, a two-tone wooden block, tambourine and maracas. As the children staying at the RMH heard we had arrived with musical instruments, they started coming to the Bubble Room and quickly started playing some of the percussion instruments they liked.

We presented Karen Matthews, RMH House Manager, with 50 Alyssa Starter Art Kits. The delivery included a variety of art kits such as adult coloring books, drawing kits, watercolor kits, acrylic kits and journals. Each child and family member selected an Alyssa SAK of their choice. A young girl, Bella, gave Yoli a butterfly she had made earlier with watercolors. Both were happy to meet each other.

We are thankful that we can share Alyssa’s love for the arts with others. Happy Spring to all of you!