Benefit to honor cancer victim
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on September 18, 2016 12:19 AM
A fundraiser this week will benefit children with cancer, as well as honoring the memory of a local teen who died of cancer last year.
The Kickin Childhood Cancer for Matt Poland will be held Saturday, Sept. 24, from 11:30 a.m. until 10 p.m.
It was the brainchild of Brooke Amory, the owner of Kickin Kiwi, where the event will be held. It is located in the Memorial Commons shopping center. She knew the Poland family, who lost its 16-year-old son to osteosarcoma last year.
"God spoke to me and said to do a benefit in honor of Matt," Ms. Amory said. "I asked Anita (Matt's mother) about doing a benefit. She hugged me and we both started tearing up. She was excited about it, as well as I was."
The two women began working out the details of the fundraiser.
It's what helped Anita deal with her son's death.
Matt was 14 when he was diagnosed with the bone cancer in his left tibia.
"He had 32 chemo treatments and a radical amputation," Anita said. "Less than two months of him finishing up his chemo, he had a biopsy and the cancer had come back in two different areas. That led to more chemo. He went through almost 50 chemo treatments total."
It also led to 39 radiation treatments, which enabled Matt to walk with lofts, crutches that you put your arms into instead of ones that you use under your arms.
Matt eventually had to have the rest of his leg amputated up to the hip.
He also participated in two clinical trials, hoping that if he wasn't able to benefit from them, at least it might help other children.
Matt lost his battle with cancer June 8, 2016, not even two years after he was diagnosed.
"Matt said multiple times through all of his treatments, that the one thing he saw was that there was good in people and he felt loved," Anita said. "That was an emotional life preserver.
"The community rallied around us with cards, donations, gifts of kindness and love and meals. That was sustaining us. Because of the gifts of others, we were able to make our house payments, make our utility bills, buy groceries and make medical payments."
So when Brooke told Anita her idea for a benefit in her son's name, Anita was all for it.
"She told me on my birthday, Jan. 27, this past year," Anita said. "It was almost seven months outside of Matt's passing."
Anita said she had wanted to do something like this but she was so overwhelmed with grief that she never acted on it.
"Matt had shared with me and other people that his wish was to help other children that were facing cancer, like so many had helped him," Anita said. "And I had a desire to do something that would honor his wish."
The two women decided to have the benefit in September, which is pediatric cancer month. They want to make it an annual event.
Sept. 24, a portion of the proceeds from sales at Kickin Kiwi will be donated to the Claire Parker Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps children going through cancer and their families.
Claire Parker was diagnosed with infantile leukemia when she was 10 months old. She was treated at Duke the same time that Matt was there getting his treatments and the Parker and Poland families became friends, although the Parkers live in Virginia.
The foundation was created by Claire's parents in her memory after she died at just 20 months old. The foundation helps encourage other families in the same situation as Claire.
"Cancer is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a family," said Connie Parker, Claire's mother. "We want to support these families and let them know they are not alone and also give them hope and courage."
The foundation works with five hospitals, three in North Carolina, Duke Children's, Levine Children's of Charlotte, Brenner Children's in Winston-Salem, and two in Virginia, Children's Hospital in Charlottesville and Roanoke Carilion.
It sends care boxes to the hospitals when any child is diagnosed with cancer and having his or her first patient stay. It contains hygiene products, a $200 gift card, a journal and a contact form for the foundation, Mrs. Parker said.
If the family chooses to get in touch with the foundation, it receives emotional support, financial support and special things to encourage the children, like a family movie night box consisting of a pizza gift card, popcorn and a DVD, a survival kit consisting of a T-shirt, book bag, snack tumbler, Amazon gift card and a Chick-fil-A gift card, and at Christmas a special gift box tailored to the child.
Those attending the benefit fundraiser will also have the opportunity to make a special donation to the Claire Parker Foundation and have their name put on a card to decorate the walls of Kickin Kiwi, which will also be decorated with balloons, flowers and other items.
T-shirts from the foundation will be for sale, with all of the proceeds going to the foundation.
Next year, the Kickin Childhood Cancer for Matt Poland benefit will be a 5K.
"We want to make it bigger each year," Brooke said.