Get Well Gabby Foundation makes final payment on $125,000 grant to A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children
The Get Well Gabby Foundation was started in 2012 in honor and memory of Gabriella Vogel, who was a valiant fighter of childhood cancer. Gabriella passed away at the age of 5 on Sept. 11, 2011.
When the foundation was newly established, the founders of The Get Well Gabby Foundation, Carolynn and John Vogel of Ocean View, entered into a pledge with A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. The pledge was for a financial grant of $125,000 for two important initiatives that would greatly impact the lives of children fighting cancer at that hospital.
Carolynn and John Vogel were joined Sept. 2 by their children Madison, Kaitlyn and Alexander Vogel, along with representatives Brittany Smith and Joan Pilko from the Get Well Gabby Foundation to present the final check of $27,000 to Dr. Andy Kolb at A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington.
The investment made by Get Well Gabby was instrumental in building the first data registry for pediatric oncology patients. This important tool has existed for adult oncology patients, but never before for children. It is important to have the data registry to improve each patient's treatment as well as for research. The data registry has the potential to have broad international impact. Very exciting is the role the Get Well Gabby Foundation’s support played helping Nemours secure a $1.5 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health. The second initiative was to fund the building and furnishing of the new oncology child life playroom on the oncology floor of the newly constructed hospital in Wilmington.
In addition to the grant to A.I. DuPont, the foundation has collected and donated over $51,000 worth of new books. The books have been donated to nine different children's hospitals. The foundation provides an opportunity to assist kids and their families, and help them get well, but mostly to put a smile on the faces of both the kids with cancer and their entire family. The foundation has donated over $13,600 to individual families that have a child fighting a cancer diagnosis. To learn more, go to www.getwellgabby.org.
The Get Well Gabby Foundation is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization. Events have been hosted at the Delaware beaches that have assisted in the fundraising to complete this grant opportunity. The next fundraiser is set for Thanksgiving Day. The public is invited to come for the Third Annual Gabby Gobble on Thanksgiving morning at Irish Eyes in Lewes. For more information or to register, go to www.getwellgabby.org or www.races2run.com.
Katie Vogel, Gabby's sister, says it the best, "Without children, there would never be grown-ups. Please help my family help other families like ours."
