How we are helping

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How we are helping....

300 Toiletry Bags for Families affected by cancer in the hospital....

1st Annual Pet Parade to honor Ellie's Birthday and her love for Pets 2022.....

Helping Cole of Downers Grove and his family...

Cole was born on November 1 st , 2018. It’s fitting that he was born the day after Halloween because he loves all things spooky. Ghosts, bats, spiders – he loves them all. He is the sweetest boy, and his nickname as a baby was ‘sweet baby Cole”. He loves his big brother, Hudson, who is 6. He loves chasing him around our first-floor while dancing to music and shrieking with laugher. No one can make him laugh quite like Hudson can. The two of them are inseparable, especially after the past couple of years with Covid and us being at home together 24/7.
In February of 2021, we noticed that Cole had a swollen lymph node beneath his ear. Over the next two months, multiple tests were run; including blood work, an ultrasound and a CT scan with contrast. We were told many times that Cole did not have cancer. However, we needed to do a final biopsy to rule out anything else that may have been going on. The evening of the day of the biopsy (April 5th ) we received the phone call telling us our son had cancer. We found out after more testing that Cole has high risk b cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
In June of the same year, we found out that our other son Hudson has Crohn's disease. He receives bi- weekly Humira injections and takes oral medications.
2021 was a hard year for our family, but we are thankful they are both able to be treated for their conditions.

Helping Noah & His Family...

Noah loves to play video games, football, and wrestle. He is an active 8th grader that loves spending time with his friends and dog. Noah was first diagnosed with adrenal cancer in third grade. He relapsed in fourth grade and underwent a year of toxic chemotherapy treatment. He was further diagnosed with hearing loss, adrenal insufficiency, and cognitive processing challenges due to treatment. He was also diagnosed with a genetic cancer predisposition called Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. During his regular imaging for his first cancer, he was found to have a new primary cancer unrelated to the adrenal cancer. He was diagnosed with a (probable) low grade glioma.

Helping Gabriel and his family....

My family and I are so grateful for your kindness and generosity. My son Gabriel was diagnosed with a brain tumor (medulloblastoma) in April of 2019 at age 7, and then again with a relapse in June of 2021. This has been such a difficult time for our family, but your assistance makes things like paying the ever-present medical bills just a little bit easier for us.

Ellie Celebration while Helping Colin with this fight with cancer!

Helping Ella "live on, follow her dreams"

Ella Rojszk, a local 2-year-old, was diagnosed October 19th, 2020, with Wilms tumor, a kidney cancer that affects children. Four days later, Ella had her kidney and tumor removed and followed it with radiation and chemotherapy. Due to the pandemic, the #elliestrong forever foundation shifted from the normal fundraiser to a virtual beer and soda tasting to raise funds for this incredible family. With the help of family, friends, and the community, the foundation was able to give the family a substantial check to help them “Live on and Follow their Dreams.” Ella has since finished treatment and her last scan was clear. She will continue to be monitored closely as she heads into her remission.

Helping Noah family "Live on, and follow their dreams"

Noah Halek was a vibrant, full-of-life 7-year-old when he was diagnosed with a DIPG, a terminal brain cancer, in November 2019. Noah’s family did everything to give them time as a family before he lost his battle with cancer in July, 2020. The #elliestrong forever foundation felt very honored to be able to help this amazing family in a small way to “Live on, and Follow their Dreams”. Noah’s light shined so bright and will continue to leave a lasting impression on this world.

Ella Rojszk, a local 2-year-old, was diagnosed October 19th, 2020, with Wilms tumor, a kidney cancer that affects children. Four days later, Ella had her kidney and tumor removed and followed it with radiation and chemotherapy. Due to the pandemic, the #elliestrong forever foundation shifted from the normal fundraiser to a virtual beer and soda tasting to raise funds for this incredible family. With the help of family, friends, and the community, the foundation was able to give the family a substantial check to help them “Live on and Follow their Dreams.” Ella has since finished treatment and her last scan was clear. She will continue to be monitored closely as she heads into her remission.

Helping Diane's family "Live on, follow their dreams"

Diane O’Neal (previously, Diane Dombrowski) is well known in Lemont. Diane met her soulmate, Don O’Neal, and moved to Evansville, IN, to start the next chapter of her life being by his side with her girls. Diane Litto O'Neal was a force of compassion and determination. An active mom of two young girls who are now growing into young women, Diane battled MS quietly. Her strength in her own battle was in the form of constant action, running around with her girls, coaching Hornets cheerleading, or supporting any and all Lemont functions. Many watched her with her girls and all of the youth within her arm's reach and called her a "mom to all.” Three years ago, Diane made the public announcement that she had started a new battle and, this time, it was cancer. She fought a very hard battle with hospital visits, stays, therapy, and home nurses. Not only did the family have to navigate the cancer but also the financial side of it all. Unfortunately, Diane lost her battle with cancer in April of 2021. Although Diane no longer lived locally, the impact she had on Lemont and Ellie Cuiching can never be forgotten. She got Ellie involved with Lemont Hornets Cheerleading and was one of Ellie’s biggest supporters and cheerleaders herself. The #elliestrong forever foundation was proud to be able to contribute a check to help the family with medical expenses and even a small amount to help the family “Live on and Follow their Dreams.”

Toiletries for Patients

The #elliestrong teen advisory group collected and sorted toiletries for patients families stuck in the hospital with nothing.

#elliestrong and Sladek Strong Ornaments.

The #elliestrong foundation ordered 1st annual ornaments. Kyle, ellies mom glittered all 300 ornaments and added bows. The foundation with the help of local businesses sold the ornaments. The funds raised went to help a local family in Lemont that lost their father to Cancer a few months back and now the twin 5 year old Mom was diagnosed and is fighting cancer.

Rak's Shared on #elliestrong facebook page.

Random Acts of kindness performed in Ellie's name and then photos and stories are posted on facebook. We will add more photos as we go.

Bottle Caps for #elliestrong Benches for schools

Lemont Schools and surrounding areas collected over 3000 pounds of bottle caps. Then tons of volunteers showed up to sort and clean the bottle caps. Kelli and Keith Shoup rented a Uhal Trailer and drove the caps to Evansville, IN where they dropped off the caps and picked up the benches. In the Spring the benches are planed for all three grade schools Ellie attended and we are hoping to put the 4th bench at a public area so everyone can enjoy. Stay tuned.
Here is the link to the story The Lemont Patch did on the bottle caps
The Patch Writes about the event

#elliestrong benches were installed at the grade schools. It took a little longer than expected due to the pandemic. Also one bench is installed at Park District by the #elliestrong Garden

The Monday before Christmas
Make a difference Monday.

May 20th, #elliestrong day...

Helping Megastrong Megan......

Megan is an amazing athletic teenager from Aurora. At the end of September, 2018, she was diagnosed with an aggressive high-grade brain tumor. Megan had the tumor removed but the next steps of her recovery were critical and literal as she had to relearn how to walk. Megan, endured countless amounts of physical therapy, radiation and chemotherapy. She was in remission, when recently a new scan showed Megan’s cancer has resurfaced. After another brain resection and, once again, relearning how to walk, she is undergoing cutting-edge treatment through a clinical trial at Seattle Children’s. This requires her to live one mile from the hospital. The family had to rent a house and relocate half the family to Seattle while the other half remains here. The #elliestrong forever foundation was able to provide some financial aid to this family to help them navigate living in two states for 6 weeks as Megan fights for her life. Currently, Megan is still in Seattle in treatment.

A Thank You note from Megans family....

Hi Kyle! I wanted to send a quick picture and thank you for Elliestrong’s support of our family! The donation is being used to help cover our housing costs for the 2 months we are living in Seattle. Our little home away from home is in a great location across the street from Green Lake and just 3.5 miles from the hospital. We are settling in and getting comfortable as we start treatment for Meg! Thank you again for your support!

Helping the Sladek Family "Live on, and follow their Dreams

The #elliestrong forever foundation held a fundraiser in February of 2020 to benefit the Sladeks, a local family. The family’s father, Brian, lost his battle with cancer in August, 2019 after many years of fighting. His battle paralleled Ellie’s. Even though they were in separate hospitals far away from one another, Brian and Ellie were connected through the fight. Shortly before Brian lost his battle with cancer, Kate, his wife and mother of their twin 6-year-olds, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Kate was incredibly strong balancing raising her children, Brian being in ICU, and battling cancer herself, also adding radiation and chemotherapy to the mix. Kate can now proudly call herself a survivor after a long battle. The #elliestrong forever foundation is honored to have helped this family financially, so that they could “Live on and Follow their Dreams”

1st Annual Elliestrong Fundraiser

We had an amazing first annual Elliestrong forever Fundraiser at Tap House Lemont with over 200 attendees. It was a huge success and we where able to raise $27,000 to help families fighting cancer. Not only was it a huge success but everyone truly enjoyed themselves. This event not only benefited this years Sponsored family "The Sladek's" but also is helping other families affected by cancer "Live on, follow their dreams"