TeamShaniqua/Shannon Williams & Family

Marie Maurice-Burgess October 1, 1946 "“ January 24, 2014

On Friday, Earth lost a beloved mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend:Heaven gained an angel. Team Shaniqua will carry on with the fight against cancer. However, there are still some battles close to home that need to be fought. Mama Marie had no life insurance and the world's best caregiver, Shannon, was unable to work over the past eight months so she could give full-time care to her Mom (round-the-clock at home, many hospital visits, stays at National Cancer Institute for clinical trials, doctors appointments, etc.). Due to this many bills have gone unpaid and they are facing financial hardship in addition to grieving. If you are able to help with a monetary donation in any amount, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide and for sharing this site with others.

- Jessie Langer-


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Most of you have probably been keeping up with Shannon (and Team Shaniqua) over the past year and a half. There have been constant blows to her family and most recently Shannon lost her job and they received news that her mom Marie's cancer has spread further in the liver and now to the lungs.

Unfortunately instead of being able to focus all her energy on FIGHTING and kicking cancer's ass, her Mom's main source of stress are the financial issues. The stress is making her worse and she needs to focus on the fight as she begins participating in clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute very soon. Multiple ongoing financial burdens have taken a backseat during this difficult time. Every time it looks like they might catch up, something else happens (more hospitalizations, two summertime surgeries for her daughter Kayla's injured leg, loss of job, etc.). Now they are also facing additional expenses of weekly travel to Bethesda, MD for the clinical trials.

Amazingly, through all this, Shannon pulled together a last-minute Relay for Life team (Team Shaniqua) who raised over $4,000 for the American Cancer Society in a month's time. During that month, her Mom was hospitalized again a week before the event and her daughter had her first surgery 3 days before the event. Their dedication to the event was so great that they both insisted on attending and even walking in the Survivor Lap (and Caregiver Lap).

They were able to do so much for so many through the ACS, now I'm hoping that we can help them. It will be so appreciated if you can make a monetary donation in any amount. The money will go towards their main financial stressors (high utility bills, 2-yrs of back real-estate taxes, personal property taxes, home repairs & auto repairs gone unaddressed).

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide and for sharing this site.