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Kier's Kidz
Kier's Kidz is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps kids and young adults with cancer and their families
Dear Kier’s Kidz Family and Friends:
Today marks the 15th anniversary of Kier’s death. Just as it is here in Jersey now, the day was so beautiful, which captured Kier’s spirit of shining love on everyone she knew and met.
This is a very sad day for us. But we have taken that sadness and turned it into remembering how much fun, how loving, and how life-affirming Kier was. We are playing and singing her favorite songs, looking over old photos, remembering Kier’s way of twisting words when she was little, still being amazed how Kier could listen to a song once and know the lyrics, and missing the energy she brought to this family.
We also remember Kier’s friends who stuck by her to the very end, esp., Megan, Beth, Jilly, Becca, Heather, Katie, Essence, and the entire Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team. They stayed connected to Kier the whole time she was battling cancer. They are forever angels in my heart.
We also remember the people who supported us in so many ways during those four years of hell. They were amazing, and they are always in our hearts.
We are so thankful to the people who have joined us to make Kier’s Kidz all that it is. Their love, compassion, and passion, have helped keep Kier’s spirit alive and have helped kids and young adults with cancer and their families during their fight with cancer in so many ways.
We also thank the celebrities who spent time with Kiersten, among them are Jon Stewart, Ken Dashow, Will Lee, Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, Andy Reid, the entire Fab Faux band, the 76ers, the Nets and the Flyers. Kier was also able to go to Saturday Night Live, Ellen’s Show in the Park, Cats (where she met the entire cast), and The Lion King. There were so many special moments in Kier’s life and so many people who were so kind and caring.
To celebrate Kier’s life, love others, eat some cake and ice cream, and listen to your favorite music. Remember the love she had for life and for you.
Thanks.
Love and Peace,
Larry
Dear Kier’s Kidz Family and Friends:
Given all that we have been through these past three years, our world can seem like it’s coming apart. We’re faced with serious challenges every day, and in the midst of all that’s going on, we feel like nothing will ever be the same.
While it’s true that some things will never be the same, it’s equally true that many things will stay the same. We’ll always need one another. Love will always be better than hate. Empathy will always be more fulfilling than indifference. Having family and friends will always beat loneliness. Helping will always feel better than sitting on the sidelines feeling helpless.
I learned all these truths and more as I've traveled through my life.
It usually takes a lot of time to figure these things out. But, during the four years Kier fought cancer, she figured them out quickly. To Mimi and me, Kier matured ten years psychologically and emotionally for every one year she battled cancer. The result was an unbelievable transformation in Kier.
Kier spent no time lamenting her struggles. She used every waking minute to love, to learn, help, and to have fun. I remember several instances of nurses coming into Kier’s room at the hospital to tell Kier and one of her friends or fellow patients to stop making so much noise laughing and having fun. I remember how Kier would push herself through the after-effects of chemo to keep a promise to help one of the little kids in the hospital work through PT or read a child one of the books someone had bought him or her.
And, of course, I remember well the many nights during weekends when Kier would pull herself out of a stupor caused by the rigors of treatment at the hospital the week before so she could hang out with her friends at their houses or go out with her friends to a party. Life with all its struggles could not hold Kiersten down. She lived every minute as fully and as energetically as she could.
So, when I feel that worries and problems are going to overwhelm me, I remember Kier, her resilience, her love for life and other people, her ability to find the best in everyone and everything, her work to help others and to change things for the better, I get back in tune with the truths I’ve learned ad that Kier lived.
Live life the best you can. And bring others along with you.
Love and Peace,
Larry Perfetti
Kier and Keith’s Dad
CEO, Kier’s KIdz
Dear Kier’s Kidz Community, Family and Friends:
Our annual Alya Foods Date Fruit Fundraiser for our Sohaib Sultan Project has begun.
Through our Sohaib Sultan Project, we work with cancer treatment centers to make them more personal, warmer, and more cheerful through art and other environmental improvements. We are currently working with Rutgers CINJ Pediatric Cancer Unit to help bring about these improvements for their patients and patient families. We hope to get involved by other cancer centers soon.
Cancer treatment is difficult. Cancer treatment centers should be as friendly and warm as possible. Princeton University Chaplain Sohaib Sultan recognized these facts as he worked his way through his cancer treatment. He wrote about his experiences and made recommendations. Shortly before Chaplain Sultan died, he asked us at Kier’s Kidz to take up the project of making cancer treatment centers more patient friendly and more comforting. We were honored to accepted his request.
Our annual Date Fruit Fundraiser is one of the ways we fund our project work. The fundraiser coincides with Ramadan so that dates are readily available to those who keep the fast. The dates, though, are delicious and make a wonderful and healthy addition to anyone’s daily nutrition.
Please support our fundraiser. To order or make a donation, please follow this link: bit.ly/kierskidzpaypalfund to order through Paypal or Venmo.
Thank you so much.
Love and Peace,
Larry Perfetti
CEO, Kier’s KIdz
Dear Kier’s Kidz Family and Friends and the Whole World:
Our daughter, Kiersten, died of rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer, nearly fifteen years ago.
Seeing the needs and the struggles of other children fighting cancer at The Children’s Hospital when she was alive, our teenage Kier was always on hand to help those kids and to play with those kids as much as she could, even as Kier was going through years of a pretty grueling treatment for her cancer. Out of concern for Kier’s own health, I would sometimes suggest that she rest just a bit more, which would have cut down on her caretaking of the kids. No way was her answer. She told me that these kids are going through the toughest time of their lives and I am going to be there as much as I can. And she was.
When Kier realized that she was not going to win her war with cancer, she decided to start a nonprofit that would help kids with cancer and their families in several ways. Only hours before Kier fell into a coma from which she never recovered, we found out that Kier’s Kidz would be an entity that would help other nonprofits. Four years after Kier died, Kier’s Kidz became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. That was in 2012.
Here we are, almost eleven years later, and we continue to carry out Kier’s wishes. We are lucky and thankful to have had dedicated and inspiring Board members and high school and college Advisors working with us during these years. We are lucky and thankful to have two college clubs working with us, one at Rutgers University and one at Williams College. We are also fortunate to have two pediatric research institutes, one at Rutgers Cancer Institute and one at The Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute, whose work we help fund.
We help children and young adults with cancer and their families. We help underwrite pediatric cancer research at the two institutes mentioned above. Through our Imam Sultan Project, we are helping cancer treatment centers make their treatment and patient environments warmer and more comfortable. And, of course, we can involve young people in our philanthropic endeavors.
Our work is made possible by the wonderful donors whose compassion, love, and generosity are the foundation of all our work.
Kier would be psyched, delighted, thankful, and amazed at all that we have accomplished in her name and memory. Kier was a loving person who wanted the best for everyone and for every living thing. To know that we are helping these children and young adults live a little better during treatment and have a better chance of surviving because of our funding of research, Kier would be delighted. She would hug and love everyone who has ever been a part of our work.
Since Kier can speak directly for herself, I’ll speak for her. “You are making life better for children and young adults who have cancer and their families, a most noble and loving act. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for such love and generosity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you.”
May your love and generosity come bak to you a thousand-fold.
Love and Peace,
Larry Perfetti
Kier’s Dad
CEO, Kier’s Kidz
www.kierskidz.com
What's New What's New Kier’s Kidz helps children (infancy to 18 years) and young adults (19 to 30 years) with cancer and their families in several ways. We provide much-needed assistance to patients...
Happy New Year to All. May your year be filled with love, peace, fun, and good adventures.
Thanks to all who support us with their love, compassion, and donations.
If you have not been able to donate, please do so at www.kierskidz.com/ways-to-give/.
No one on the Board and none of our advisors is paid. So, your donation goes to help kids and young adults with cancer and their families, to help underwrite pediatric cancer, to help us do our Imam Sultan project that helps make cancer centers environmentally and socially friendly, and to help encourage young people to participate in philanthropic activities.
So you inspire us and help our clients live the best they can under such dire circumstances.
Thank you so much.
Love, Peace, and Health,
Larry Perfetti
CEO, Kier's Kidz
www.kierskidz.com
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