LI-Based Sarah Grace Foundation Prepares For 20th Anniversary

HICKSVILLE, NY — As the Hicksville-based Sarah Grace Foundation For Children With Cancer, Inc., gets ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2023, it's also getting ready to return to in-person fundraising events.

Since 2020, the organization has continued fundraising to help children through virtual events. But it is planning to resume in-person events next year. The foundation continues to reach out to new and previous corporate and private donors as well as researching grants to help sustain the many programs sponsored in support of children with cancer.

The Foundation recently concluded its annual Holiday Extravaganza fundraiser that provides for toys, gift cards and financial aid to children and their families. The holiday raffle raised more than $5,000 towards holiday programs.

The needs of families had only increased this year. Throughout November and December, the foundation received toy donations through drives at Ray Leventhal Clothing in Plainview, Hicksville Middle School, online toy drives and donations from the community.

In the spring, the Foundation held its second “Hugs For Sarah” Virtual 5k which raised an additional $6,000, and is currently planning its next 5K which will be a combination virtual and in-person event.

“The pediatric cancer centers we partner with depend on the services and assistance we can provide,” Foundation President Matthew Weippert said. “We’ve always done whatever we can to provide for these children and their families. We felt the financial strain, we lived it and have walked in their shoes and have an obligation to ease their pain.”

The foundation continues to work on ideas for additional programs that will support these children who want to be children, not patients in a hospital. Having a serious illness is devastating for anyone, but even more so for a child with cancer.

“We are the stewards of your generosity and can only be successful through your kindness and generosity,” said Weippert. “No child or family should face their treatment alone. That’s why the foundation remains committed to the children we have served for over 19 years and is extremely grateful for the continued support the community has provided. When a child has cancer, the family has cancer, and the financial strain on the family is difficult regardless of income.”

2023 is a very important year for The Sarah Grace Foundation as it marks the 20th anniversary of supporting children with cancer and their families.

“This anniversary is a milestone in that it is difficult to believe we have been doing this for 20 years, but even more difficult to accept that our angel, Sarah, has been gone from us that long,” Weippert said. “This is not a celebration, but a commemoration of a young life cut too short, and a recognition of all the positive things being done in Sarah’s memory.”

For more information on The Sarah Grace Foundation, please call (516) 433-9745 or visit the foundation’s website at www.TheSarahGraceFoundation.org. Donations or requests for information may be sent to the Foundation at 17 E. Old Country Road, Unit B, PMB 202, Hicksville, NY, 11801.