Main fundraiser photo

#BLAKESTRONG

Donation protected
Cancer is something that no one should ever have to face, especially a kid. The thing with cancer though is it doesn’t care how old you are, what your plans are, or even who you are for that matter. It just hits you, and in the blink of an eye, you’re left with no other option than to fight for your life. Blake was faced with this battle late last week when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He was told that he would not be able to return to school for the remainder of the year, and with that, he was told that he would not be able to play lacrosse this upcoming season. For most kids, that would be a major setback, but for Blake, although he was disappointed, he took the news and used it as motivation. His plan? Fight this thing until he wins, so that he can get back on that lacrosse field, and back to doing what 15-year-old boys should be doing. After seeing him at the hospital walking around and being the classic Blake that we all know and love, we realized that this kid is our hero. He helped to lift OUR spirits, while we thought we would be there to lift his. The fact that he was able to put smiles on our faces after what he’s going through, was truly amazing and inspiring.

 
This is the beginning of a very long road for Blake and for the family. But he is going into this super strong and with an extremely positive attitude. Over the next couple of months, Blake will be receiving chemotherapy treatments. It is undoubtedly going to be the toughest thing he will ever have to go through, and unfortunately, it’s something that you really can’t prepare someone for. But he’s got this! I don’t know if he realizes at this point the army of a support system he has behind him, but it’s a pretty indomitable crew! He’s also got some pretty tough angels up there who I can guarantee are pretty pissed off about this whole thing, like we all are. 

 
We are so fortunate to live in a community, that when one family is in need, everyone comes together to help one another. I know that my aunt and uncle are overwhelmed with the amount of love and support that has been shown over the past couple of days. But, I know there’s always that question of what else can I do to help? There will be treatments, doctor’s appointments, special diet, and everyday needs for the rest of the family. This is all overwhelming enough and if we can lighten the burden in any possible way, that is what we want to do.

 
So what can you do to help? You can show support in so many ways. Making a donation to help support the family and the costs they will be facing, and helping to spread leukemia awareness are just a few of those ways. We all know Blake is super active. When he’s not running up and down the lax field, you’ll probably find him ripping it on his quad. As a family, we figured that something physical would be best. Being that September is Leukemia awareness month, we decided to participate in a half marathon and run it for our cousin. We will be getting t-shirts made to wear in the race or to just show support and raise awareness. All proceeds from the t-shirts will go directly to the family as well. Below, I will explain more about the half marathon, but before that, we wanted to thank you for your support and generosity. It means the world to our family!

 
Blake’s battle is our battle and we will fight this with him until we win. #BLAKESTRONG

Any donations will go directly to Peter & Jill Doyen

Half Marathon Info:

Hamptons Half Marathon—

Date- September 29, 2018

Start Location & Time- Leland Lane | 8:00am

Entry Fee- $85.00 (This run is NOT affiliated with a leukemia awareness foundation so the price of the ticket just covers the entry fee. It is NOT a donation)

We are looking into privately fundraising at the event, we will keep you posted on that!

            NOTE: This price will go up on 6/4/18

Any other race info/registration page can be found at https://hamptonsmarathon.com 

 

With love,

Blake’s Cousins <3
Donate

Donations 

  • Emily Kalberer
    • $50
    • 5 yrs
Donate

Organizer and beneficiary

Ashlyn Stiles
Organizer
Miller Place, NY
Jill Doyen
Beneficiary

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee