Sarah Grace Foundation Of LI Ends 2024 'Strong,' Looks To 2025

HICKSVILLE, NY — The Sarah Grace Foundation for Children With Cancer had a "busy and exciting" 2024 filled with charitable endeavors rooted in the mission of Sarah's Angels, said Matthew Weippert, Sarah's father and co-founder of the charity.

The Weipperts founded the charity following the death of their daughter, Sarah, to cancer.

Since its founding in 2003 in honor of Sarah Grace Weippert, the foundation has remained committed to helping children with cancer and their families, Weippert said. The foundation’s motto is "providing smiles for children; one child at a time."

The year started off with "beautiful" dresses and garments made by students of the Queens College Department of Theater and Dance, which were provided to children at the pediatric cancer center at Montefiore.

"The gifts were a wonderful distraction for the children who were very excited to receive and wear them," Weippert said.

March was again a busy month, as the foundation kicked off its annual "Hugs For Sarah Virtual 5K" in honor of Sarah’s birthday, in addition to hosting a clothing drive.

In May, the foundation received a donation from West Hollow Middle School: multiple beautifully created art books that were sold as a fundraising endeavor, Weippert said.

In July, the foundation hosted its first in-person fundraising event since the coronavirus pandemic. "An Evening of Magic," held at the Milleridge Inn on July 12, featured entertainment by magician/mentalist David Schwartz. The event was a "huge success," as it nearly completely sold out with rave reviews from attendees, according to Weippert.

The foundation has scheduled another event for April 4 featuring Magician/Mentalist Gary Ferrar.

Tickets for the next event will be on sale soon, and the event is limited seating, advance sale only.

Over the summer months, the foundation was hard at work on several ventures, Weippert said, including: distributing summer craft projects, distributing more than 750 new books, replenishing The Escape Hatch and Chemo Duck at multiple hospitals, and providing backpacks and school supplies as part of the organizations "Back to School" program. This year, distributions were supported by collections at Ray Leventhal Clothing in Plainview, The Hicksville-Jericho Rotary Club, and Miracle Toyota in Haines City, Florida.

In addition to all these projects, the foundation continued to provide financial aid to families of children with cancer, including supermarket gift cards to those families experiencing food insecurities.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month, and the foundation worked to distribute daily information boosts, as well as participating in Childhood Cancer Awareness Events, encouraging everyone to wear gold ribbons in support of children with cancer.

Through generous donations by the Build-A-Bear Foundation, The Sarah Grace Foundation was able to distribute brand new furry friends to children with cancer, Weippert said.

As fall arrived, the foundation shipped out 550 Halloween trick-or-treat goodie bags and provided fall craft projects for children at local pediatric cancer centers.

"All of this was accomplished while also fulfilling requests for grocery and gas gift cards as well as financial assistance for household expenses, patient co-pays and funeral expenses," Weippert said. "The foundation depends on the generosity of donors and fundraising events to fulfill its mission."

The Holiday Extravaganza raffle held in November raised $5,600 for the foundation’s holiday programs.

"We are incredibly grateful to all our supporters, as well as all of the organizations and businesses we have partnered with this year to continue supporting these children and their families," Weippert said.

The foundation hosted both online and in-person toy drives to guarantee a brighter holiday for these children. The foundation stated it is grateful to Ray Leventhal Clothing in Plainview, Hicksville Middle School, and UPS Store #7718 in Davenport, Florida, for hosting toy drives benefiting The Sarah Grace Foundation.

"Our foundation, along with the children and families we serve, is forever indebted to the generosity of these organizations and all of those involved," Weippert said. "Coordinating a toy drive may seem like an easy task, but it is not. Many hours go into planning, organizing, and implementing its success. This could not have succeeded without 'Sarah’s Angels' facilitating toy pickups, sorting, and shipping. Gift certificates are great, but the smile on a child’s face when they unwrap a toy is priceless. The foundation remains committed to the children we have served for over 20 years and is extremely grateful for the continued support the community has provided. For many of these children, the toys the foundation can provide will be the only gifts they receive this holiday season."

This year, Sarah Grace Foundation has once again received grants from the Nassau County Bar Association – WE CARE Fund in direct support of the Chemo Duck program, Weippert said.

In November, the foundation also received a $5K grant from the Dunkin' Joy In Childhood Foundation in support of Sarah Grace Foundation programs to provide meal vouchers and grocery gift cards to families experiencing food insecurity.

"Without the tremendous community support the foundation has received for more than 20 years and grants such as these, many programs would not be possible," Weippert said. "The children with cancer we serve would experience a much more detrimental impact from their disease."

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