Honorary Chairwoman Brenda Frese

Baltimore, MD—May 15, 2012—There Goes My Hero is sponsoring the 4 ^rd Annual Polo Match and Family Outing. The event is being held rain or shine at the Fields of the Maryland Polo Club in Fallston, MD from 1:00-6:00 p.m. on June 3, 2012. Tickets are $100 per person and include mouth-watering hors d’oeuvres, a delicious lunch, dessert, a full bar featuring “HeroTinis,” live music performed by The Qi Lo, a silent auction, children’s entertainment, an official Polo Match, and an afternoon of fun and HOPE.  Children 12 and under are free and all proceeds benefit There Goes My Hero.Attendees will be able to register as bone marrow donors.  Those who can’t attend are encouraged to donate whatever they can at http://theregoesmyhero.org/donate/.

There Goes My Hero, was founded in 2008 by Erik Sauer, a leukemia survivor who successfully received a bone marrow transplant.  Erik’s mission and the mission of There Goes My Hero is to provide hope and nourishment to Leukemia patients and their families. The foundation accomplishes this mission by holding bone marrow registration drives, providing nutritious meals to leukemia patients and their families, and supporting blood cancer research.

“Only 4 out of 10 patients are lucky enough to receive a transplant,” said Sauer. “Registering to become a bone marrow donor is a simple cheek swab; but it is also a commitment to help save a life. You must be between 18 and 55 and in good general health. It is especially important to increase the number of young adults and ethnically diverse donors. People from an ethnic minority background are especially needed to join the registry including Hispanic or Latino, African-American, Asian, American Indian, and mixed ethnicities,” he concluded.

When asked why should someone register to be a bone marrow donor Sauer smiled and said: “Why not…it saves lives.” The foundation invites you to join the fight against leukemia and to bring hope to those in need by participating in this and other events. 

Event Details: 

WHO:             There Goes My Hero Foundation

VIPs:               Coach Brenda Frese, University of Maryland Women’s Basketball

                         The Seraph Foundation is matching every single penny

                         the foundation is raising during 2012

                         The Qi Lo to provide live-entertainment

WHAT:           4^th Annual Polo Match & Family Outing.

WHEN:           1:00-6:00 p.m. on June 3, 2012   

WHERE:         Fields of the Maryland Polo Club in Fallston, MD

CONTACT:    Jorge Castillo jorge.castillo@theregoesmyhero.org

For more information and to purchase tickets please call 1-800-601-4370 or visit http://theregoesmyhero.org/events/4th-annual-polo-match-family-outing/

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Baltimore, MD—May 02, 2012—When Paul Palumbo was approached by There Goes My Hero’s (TGMH) board member and leukemia survivor Michele Bresnick Walsh to headline its 4^th Annual Polo Match & Family Outing fundraiser, it was a no-brainer for him.  The Brentwood, NY native and co-founder of The Qi Lo has had his own encounters with cancer as has each of the band’s members. “Each member of The Qi Lo has had experiences with family who has fought battles with cancer,” said Palumbo. “We are dedicated to help There Goes My Hero fight leukemia.”

The event is being held rain or shine at the Fields of the Maryland Polo Club in Fallston, MD from 1:00-6:00 p.m. on June 3, 2012. Tickets are $100 per person and include mouth-watering hors d’oeuvres, a delicious lunch, dessert, a full bar featuring “HeroTinis,” live music performed by The Qi Lo, a silent auction, children’s entertainment, an official Polo Match, and an afternoon of fun and HOPE.  Children 12 and under are free and all proceeds benefit There Goes My Hero.

The Qi Lo is the most recent addition to a growing list of supporters of the foundation, which includes the head coach of women’s basketball at the University of Maryland, Brenda Frese, who is the honorary chairwoman of the event. Other locally and nationally recognized bands have been in The Qi Lo’s shoes before, including Fiction20Down who most recently, along with Cool Hand and the Swagger, Jesters of Kindness, and Jimmy Solesky joined forces during the Music for Life Benefit Concert at Towson University to benefit the foundation and to help register people in the international bone marrow registry.

“The members of The Qi Lo are honored to be able to take part in such a fine event as the headliners of There Goes My Hero Foundation’s 4th Annual Polo Match and Family Outing,” added Palumbo. “We have followed TGMH for a few years now and are impressed by what a fantastic charity they have become,” he concluded. 

The 4^th Annual Polo Match is the foundation’s largest and most important fundraiser.  “This year is the most important so far,” pointed Erik Sauer, TGMH’s founder, chairman and leukemia survivor. “The Seraph Foundation is matching every single penny we are raising during 2012, so in essence, every $100 admission becomes $200 and that is huge for us and for our fight against leukemia,” he added. Sauer was given a second chance at life through the bone marrow transplant of an 18 year old German woman in 2008. “I wouldn’t be here otherwise and I encourage you to donate as much as you can and most importantly, to get swabbed so you can potentially save someone else’s life.”

The foundation invites you to join the fight against leukemia and to bring hope to those in need by participating in their events.  For more information visit 4^th Annual Polo Match & Family Outing.

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Contact: Jorge Castillo

jorge.castillo@theregoesmyhero.org

Brenda Frese Picture There Goes My Hero

Baltimore, MD—April 4, 2012—Brenda Frese knows a thing or two about battling the odds. Just a few short years ago, the head coach of women’s basketball at the University of Maryland inspired a renaissance for a struggling program and turned it into a National Championship winning team and perennial top contender. Now, she is helping to lead a different type of cause to beat the odds off the court.

Frese was named the Honorary Chairwoman of There Goes My Hero Foundation’s (TGMH) 4^th Annual Polo Match & Family Outing. TheBaltimore-based non-profit registers bone marrow donors and provides nutritious meals for leukemia patients and their families.  One of the reasons Frese was drawn to support the cause in the fight against leukemia is because of the impact the disease has had on her own family. Frese’s son Tyler was diagnosed with leukemia on September 28, 2010 when he was 2.

“His courage and strength to deal with everything that followed has made him our hero,” Frese said. “That’s why the “There Goes My Hero” cause is something I’m happy to support and bring awareness to.”

In support of the cause, she will be participating in the organization’s 4^th Annual Polo Match & Family Outing on June 3, 2012.  “First, There Goes My Hero will like to congratulate Coach Frese and the entire Maryland Women’s Basketball organization on their wonderful successes this season,” said Erik Sauer, the foundation’s founder and chairman. “Second, I would like to say we are thrilled to have her on board as our honorary chairwoman and are so thankful for her commitment to increasing awareness about leukemia and the bone marrow registry,” he added.

Sauer was given a second chance at life through the bone marrow transplant of an 18 year old German woman in 2008. “She saved my life and never even knew me. It is because of her generosity and selflessness that I am alive today and created the There Goes My Hero Foundation.”

The event is being held rain or shine at the Maryland Polo Club in Fallston, Maryland from 1:00-6:00 p.m on June 3, 2012. Tickets are $100 per person and includes mouth-watering hors d’oeuvres, a delicious lunch, dessert, a full bar featuring “HeroTinis,” live music performed by the band The Qi Lo, a silent auction, children’s entertainment, an official Polo Match, and an afternoon of fun and HOPE.  Children 12 and under are free and all proceeds benefit There Goes My Hero.

 More Than a Basketball Hero

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Contact: Jorge Castillo | Jorge.castillo@theregoesmyhero.org

Read more here

“We are thrilled and honored to have such wonderful partners in the community,” said Russell Weber, There Goes My Hero Foundation Board of Director’s President. “The Seraph Foundation is providing TGMH with a grant that will take the form of a matching challenge.  The Seraph Foundation will match dollar for dollar all donations made to TGMH during calendar year 2012 for a maximum grant of $25,000.” 

Mr. Bill Spire, Seraph Foundation’s Director, also addressed the 100+ attendees during TGMH’s A Taste for Life fundraiser. “Both institutions are committed to making a difference in the lives of those affected with cancer,” he commented.  “There Goes My Hero plays a very important role in creating awareness about leukemia and the importance of the bone marrow registry.  We hope to help by matching donations from their donors to help TGMH’s mission,” he said.

The Seraph Foundation is a private family foundation that has been involved in the effort to fight cancer for over a decade.  They have partnered with Johns Hopkins and other hospitals and research centers from Virginia to New York.  “They have always been an altruistic organization that has done most of its work anonymously,” added Erik Sauer, There Goes My Hero’s founder and board chairman. “We are very grateful and honored to be partnering with them to continue to fulfill our mission to provide hope and nourishment to leukemia patients and their families by providing meals and registering bone marrow donors,” he continued.

Through events such as A Taste for Life, TGMH provides a platform by which a person can learn more about the importance of a bone marrow donation.  In addition to raising money for future bone marrow drives, attendees can “swab a cheek—safe a live” at all of  There Goes My Hero’s signature events. After the cheek swab, which takes less than 2 minutes, samples are sent to a lab where scientists attempt to match donors and blood cancer patients who are in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.  “We invite everyone to help us in the fight against leukemia,” continued Sauer. “But most importantly, we would like to extend an invitation to those between the ages of 18 and 55 and those with ethnic backgrounds to register in the international bone marrow registry.” he added.

TGMH would like you to save the date for their next event on June 3, 2012 when the Fourth Annual Polo Match and Family Outing will take place.  The event will feature a day of Polo, gourmet food, libations, family entertainment, kids’ games and the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. 

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Contact: Jorge Castillo|jorge.castillo@theregoesmyhero.org

When Erik Sauer was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2008, his family members were not a bone marrow match. However, a 19-year-old woman, Isabel Hagen from Germany, was a match for Erik. Erik had no knowledge of who his donor was until the fall of 2010. At that time, Erik and Isabel started communicating by letters and e-mail, despite a slight language barrier.

Erik met his donor for the first time on September 27^th, 2011, when Isabel landed at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. Erik said, “I have so many emotions inside me about my visit with Isabel. This young woman saved my life and never even knew me. I was excited, happy and nervous all at the same time. It is because of Isabel’s generosity and selflessness that I am alive today and created There Goes My Hero Foundation.”

Isabel spent the better part of a week with Erik, his wife Lisa, and their two children Ian and Joey. Isabel took a whirlwind tour of the East Coast with visits to Baltimore, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. Erik commented that “Isabel is like the little sister that I never had!”

While visiting the area, Fox 45 took interest in Erik and Isabel’s story and conducted a brief interview with the two of them. View the Fox 45 interview here.

Leukemia Blog and Cancer Support

From a cancer survivor:

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED

Statistics aren’t necessarily instructive. Every case is unique.

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

Diarrhea and vomiting are as bad as they seem. They’re worse when you’re hallucinating.

Staying positive and not succumbing to depression is worth the effort.

Taking a shower with an IV pole is not easy but it is possible.

Try to do as many things as you can by yourself.

Trying to figure out “why me” is an unsatisfying endeavor.

Miracles happen. Pray. Have faith.

Constant complaining doesn’t help your case.

Sleep deprivation is as annoying as anything.

Keep your chin up. Don’t surrender.

Important things are simple but sometimes simple things are hard.

Nothing worth having is easy.

Trust your gut. The first decision is usually best.

If the enemy looks like it’s retreating, it may be regrouping.

You will experience most of the potential side-effects.

Wear your regular civilian clothes instead of the hospital issued smock and slippers. Be comfortable and pretend things are normal.

Chemo sucks. More chemo sucks more. The impact is cumulative.

Don’t use a bedpan if you can avoid it.

No question you can survive more than you think.

Expect to be subject to routine medical indignities.

Not everyone including family and friends knows how to react, what to do or what to say. Some people will avoid you. You’ll be surprised.

You will be the beneficiary of incredible kindness, care, concern, help, prayers and love. It will come even from unexpected sources.

Good things happen to good people. But bad things too. And good things to bad people. It gets confusing.

Be nice to the nurses. You see them more than anyone.

Nurses avoid the grumpy, nasty, mean patients.

Ask the doctors questions. Don’t allow them to be vague. Know what’s going on.

Don’t box yourself in with sweeping threats or crushing self-doubt.

Love your primary caregiver.

Know that the doctors will try various treatments if they need to, which is another way of saying they don’t always know exactly what to do.

Turn your worries over to God. He’s up all night anyway.

“We were thrilled to see our first university drive be a great success,” said Erik Sauer, There Goes My Hero Chairman, founder, and leukemia survivor. “Targeting young donors is key,” he continued.  There Goes My Hero (TGMH) urges young people and minorities to “swab a cheek. . .save a life” by joining the bone marrow registry. “It is especially important to increase the number of young adults and ethnically diverse donors between the ages of 18 and 55,” he concluded.

People from an ethnic minority background are especially needed to join the registry including American Indian, Asian, African-American, Hispanic or Latino and mixed ethnicities. “U.S. minorities are underrepresented in the bone marrow registry,” pointed out Jorge E. Castillo,  Vice-President of the Board of Directors. “It is also harder to find a perfect match because of the complex genetic variability that occurs within minorities. To that extend, we urge all minorities to register and possibly save someone’s life,” he added.

The foundation is also working with Michigan State University and Morgan State University to create a similar bone-marrow drive with a concert theme and plans to spread this concept throughout universities in the U.S.. The Morgan State University event is scheduled to kick off in Spring 2012.

There Goes My Hero Foundation is actively recruiting college interns. As thought leaders, the foundation also has a collaborative service program with Loyola University Maryland.  Mrs. Stephanie McLoughlin, a board member and affiliate professor at the university’s Joseph E. Sellinger School of Business and Management, has given students an opportunity to tackle business questions and come up with marketing strategies using TGMH as a case study. “By giving students the opportunity to work on a marketing problem with the foundation, students are being exposed to real world problems  and can immediately see how they can make a difference in someone’s life,” she explained.

TGMH will have a bone marrow registration booth at their next event “A Taste for Life”  scheduled for Thursday, February 23, 2012 from 6:00-9:00 p.m..  The event will feature Single-barrel bourbon, hors d’oeuvres, limited-edition beer tasting, fine wine and the best view in Baltimore.  All proceeds benefit There Goes My Hero Foundation.

Purchase your tickets online at http://theregoesmyhero.org/events/2012-taste-for-life/

$50 in advance, $65 at the door.

For more information call Terry Weigel, Executive Director at 410-299-1422.

Ravens Fans Tailgate, Celebrate, Donate

There Goes My Hero Foundation, a Baltimore-based non-profit whose mission is to register bone marrow donors, provide nutritious meals for leukemia patients and their families and to raise money for blood cancer research, registered bone marrow donors at the Gameday Warehouse this Sunday, November 20, 2011, just before the Raven’s home game against division rivals the Cincinnati Bengals.

Although the bone marrow donation procedure is not happening today, Ravens fans at the Gameday Warehouse are in essence committing to donating their bone marrow if a match is found. “Today, like in many other bone marrow drives we have put together, we are simply swabbing the cheek,” said Terry Weigel, the foundation’s Executive Director.  The samples are then sent to a lab where scientists attempt to match donors and blood cancer patients who are in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.  The foundation will be at the Gameday Warehouse during the tailgating celebrations every Raven’s home game to register bone marrow donors and to continue to spread the word about the importance of the international bone marrow registry.

“It was because of a young 18 year-old German donor that I am here talking to you,” said Erik Sauer, There Goes My Hero founder and the foundation’s board chairman.  “If it wasn’t for her kindness and for the fact that she “got swabbed” I would have not had another chance at life.”

A bone marrow transplant gives leukemia and other blood cancer patients a second chance.  “There is unfortunately a lot of misinformation out there,” Sauer pointed out.  “If you were to donate your bone marrow today it would most likely be like donating blood.  Your blood is collected, spun in a centrifuge–where hematopoietic or blood forming stem cells separate from other blood components–and then returned to you.”  This procedure is known as the Peripheral Blood Stem Cells Donation and it is not a surgical procedure.  Another procedure, known as the Bone Marrow Donation Procedure, is less common.  The Bone Marrow Donation procedure is a surgical procedure and it takes place in a hospital.  The donor is anesthetized so he feels no pain.  During the Bone Marrow Donation doctors use a needle to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of the donor’s pelvic bone. The marrow will replace itself completely within 4 to 6 weeks.

There Goes My Hero urges young people and minorities to “swab a cheek. . .save a life” by joining the bone marrow registry.  “We’re actively recruiting people between the ages of 18 and 55, but it’s especially important to increase the number of young adults and ethnically diverse donors.” said Jonathan Haupt, another recipient of a bone marrow transplant and leukemia survivor who serves on the foundation’s board of directors.  “People from an ethnic minority background are especially needed to join the registry including African-American, American Indian, Asian, Hispanic or Latino and mixed ethnicities” he concluded.

A bone marrow drive will be hosted at the Gameday Warehouse during most Ravens home games and other There Goes My Hero Events, including the upcoming Music for Life Benefit Concert at Towson University on December 9, 2011 from 5PM to 9PM.  For more information, visit http://theregoesmyhero.org/events/music-for-life-benefit-concert/.

The venue, PAWS, located in the University Union is the ideal place for students to dance the night away while listening to their favorite local bands rock out on stage. The two headliner bands are Fiction20Down and Jesters of Kindness. Opening for them is a Blues band Cool Hand and the Swagger and a solo musician, Jimmy Solesky, who puts his own style into the current Top 40.

The Music for Life Benefit Concert is being organized and promoted by Towson University senior Amanda Friedberg, who is completing a Mass Communication internship with the nonprofit. Amanda has been working alongside Terry Weigel, the Executive Director and Event Coordinator of There Goes My Hero, to build this campaign from the ground up. There Goes My Hero partnered with Towson University organizations, Phi Beta Sigma and Alpha Omicron Pi.

There Goes My Hero has been fortunate to get sponsored by several local companies including Towson University, Marshall Swagger Presents, Klassic Sound, Suitcha T-shirt Design, DKMS bone marrow donor center, and several food vendors.

The Music for Life Benefit Concert will be held at Paws in the Towson University Union from 5PM to 9PM and is open to the general public. There Goes My Hero hopes to accomplish its goal of registering 500 people on the night of the concert.

Stay tuned for the band reviews and other information about There Goes My Hero and the Music for Life Benefit Concert!