Jennarosity . . . that's what we call this effort to give hope and real help to others, in my daughter Jenna's memory. Jennarosity is linked to the Giving Hope--Cincinnati Children's Hospital's community philanthropy program that provides an easy tax-deductible way to make a difference, one life at a time. Every dollar you give to Jennarosity goes directly to young adult cancer patients who find their financial lives turned upside down as a result of their illness.

If you have found your way here to this page, maybe it's because you knew Jenna, or you knew and loved Brigid Kelly, or maybe you know a Laumer (Sierra, Alaina, Dave or Michele) or a Dierker, or you know someone who knew Jenna--or maybe you just heard about our efforts and want to donate. However you got here willing to donate, thank you!

Since Jennarosity was launched on Jenna's birthday on 1/13/15, almost $175,000 has been raised! It is humbling to be able to do so much good in Jenna's memory, and many have made that possible with every dollar that's been donated. 

Jennarosity has and will continue to help other young adults who have no where else to turn for financial help. There is no "Make A Wish" program for patients over the age of 18. Jennarosity helps fill this gap - your giving helps ease real stress at a very challenging time! Brigid has supported Jennarosity almost from the time it began, and on behalf of all those your donations in Brigid's memory will help, thank you so much.

Social workers at Children's Hospital, who work very closely with each young adult patient, become aware of their specific financial needs. The social workers then make a request from Jennarosity to provide for those needs. Assistance takes many forms. It could be making a patient's mortgage/car/rent payments, paying utilities, providing gift cards for food, gas and other personal needs. 

The ripple effect of giving hope in this tangible way to someone in their time of extreme need cannot be underestimated. I am confident that the assistance Jennarosity gives is never ever forgotten by the recipient.  Humanity wins a big victory every time Jennarosity makes a grant to someone who is feeling overwhelmed, scared, tapped out and discouraged. 

Jennarosity has been a beautiful way to keep Jenna's light and bright spirit alive  - paying it forward and helping others during their time of real need. She'd be blown away by all the good that has been and continues to be set in motion!

I appreciate your taking the time to read more about Jennarosity. If you feel moved to support this effort, deepest thanks! If it's not a good time for you or you choose to support other causes, I completely understand! 

Regardless, I like to imagine Jenna and Brigid smiling their big beautiful smiles as the scales for good, for love and compassion are tipped in a very tangible way. They would, no doubt, be humbled.  Know we are as well.

Much love and gratitude,

Michele Laumer and Family and the Kelly/Tepe/Culter Family

PS: If you or someone you know prefers to mail a check rather than donate online, please send it to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, ML 9002, Cincinnati, OH . 45229-3026. Be sure to mark in the memo line: Team Jenna/Jennarosity otherwise your donation will be posted to Children's General Account.

Back Story about how Jennarosity Came to Be: Posted 1/13/15:

Jenna was 26 years old and was smack dab in the middle of living the life of an independent young adult. She had a job she loved; she had a boyfriend; she had a dog; she had an apartment; she had hobbies and friends and family that she cherished. Jenna had a life that she was creating and exploring. Then one day she noticed a lump on just one side of her neck and within days, life as she knew it was turned upside down and inside out. She was diagnosed with T-Cell ALL, a pediatric leukemia, and within days, Jenna was more critically sick than we could have ever believed when she was admitted into Children's ICU on April 23, 2009.

Jenna received top-notch care while at Children's; she often wondered how she was so fortunate to live just a few miles away from the best place on the planet to have treatment for the type of cancer she had. While Jenna's leukemia refused to be beaten, it was not for lack of trying. Unfortunately, there were just not enough treatment options once the "best recipe" failed to get what she would come to call "the leuksters" under control.

So how can you Give Hope? By making a tax-deductible donation to this Giving Hope online fundraiser in Jenna's memory, you will be directly helping support the patient and family wellness network that will benefit young adults like Jenna currently being treated in the cancer and blood disease institute at Children's.

When Jenna was sick and inpatient at Children's, we talked a lot about how other young adults manage being sick and having their lives blown up, especially when they don't have any financial safety net and/or little family support. It's hard enough to be dealing with the huge challenges that cancer and its treatment cause; it's another to deal with losing your job, losing any source of income, losing your independence and ability to take care of the life you have created. The bills don't stop coming because you have cancer. You have rent to pay, maybe a car payment, health insurance premiums and co-pays, food, gas, utilities, etc.; it all stacks up to be very stressful.

My goal with this fundraising page is to provide an easy way to directly help the growing young adult population being treated for blood cancer at Children's with a tax-deductible donation. Incredibly, there really is no other place for these patients to turn to for financial aid. There is no Make A Wish Foundation for patients older than 18. It's hard to imagine the stress and strain of not only battling cancer but also feeling so incapable of taking care of the life you had been living, and in some cases, caring for the needs of your own small children.

Please consider a contribution in the name of someone you love--as a birthday gift or holiday gift for someone who really doesn't need anything else, or as a way to celebrate your own good health and pay it forward to someone who finds themselves in what Jenna would call "a big hot mess." You can be assured that 100% of your contribution will directly benefit young men and women who really need help.

Just so you know, there is NO deadline for your contribution, and NO donation is too small. Jennarosity will exist as long as there are young adults who need financial support, so I guess that's going to be for a long time.

Please keep this opportunity in mind in the months and years ahead. Please feel free to share this link with other friends and family members. 

Many, many thanks for making a difference and for helping us to honor Jenna in this way. I like to imagine her giving us all a great big bear hug and inviting us to Northside Tavern for a round of drinks and some raucous laughs!

Love and all good,

Michele

Final Note: Though she wasn't crazy about it as a communication medium, Jenna did create a Caring Bridge page, a blog, that kept people updated about what was going on with her while she was in treatment. To read Jenna’s blog, visit
www. caringbridge.org/visit/jennal (Click on the “Journal” tab to read Jenna’s entries; you can sort Jenna’s journal from “new to old” or “old to new” by clicking on the SORT button); I think reading it from "old to new" will give you the proper chronology as the next nine months unfolded. I hope Jenna’s candor, vulnerability, honesty, humor and reflective insights about her journey with life and life with leukemia bless you and fortify you on your own journey wherever that finds you.