We would like to take a moment to thank all of There Goes My Hero’s volunteers for an amazing year of volunteering in 2024. Whether it’s taking action by registering people onto the bone marrow donor registry, preparing meals for patients and caregivers at Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion, or creating cards of encouragement, volunteers like you made a difference in the lives of those impacted by blood cancer. With your help, we:
- Educated over 2,000 people on blood cancer
- Registered 731 people to the bone marrow donor registry
- Prepared and served 863 meals
- Delivered 383 care bags
- Created over 500 cards of encouragement
Here are some of our volunteers in action throughout the year:
January
Meals with Heroes
Humberto Vijil, Meghan Young, Delores Elias, Mary-Jo Ford, Rosalind Markiewiez, Denise Hostedt, Alex Montenio, Tim Capurso, and Darci Smith, employees of Gordon Feinblatt, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing a ravioli lasagna casserole for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
Stuffing Party with LINQ
Employees from LINQ assembled farting stuffed animals on the behalf of Andrew’s Laughing Gas to spread joy and laughter to pediatric oncology patients.
February
15th Annual B’More Healthy Expo Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Nicole Jia, Eileen Lee, and Kacie Ji raised awareness about the need for diversity on the bone marrow donor registry.
Towson University Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Yvenica Calixte, a Public Health student at Towson University, educated her peers about the need for donors on the bone marrow donor registry.
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center Bone Marrow Registry Drive
DoRhonja Nichols helped her colleagues join the bone marrow donor registry to become potential lifesavers.
Meals with Heroes
Nicole Dupree, Lisa Trail, Susan Edwards, Lisa Hoffman, Greg Kamigawachi, Aysha Orben, and Paul Grawl, employees of Phoenix Operations Group, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing a Mexican casserole for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
Adaptive Technologies Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Kristy Tabor and our board member, Yvette Rodriguez, registered their colleagues at the 2024 Adaptive Biotechnologies conference.
Stuffing Party with Dulaney High School’s Key Club
Dalia Sara, Sophia deFlice, Samantha Mun, Ethan Sappe, Kimaya Sharma, and Dylan Cauolo assembled 89 farting stuffed animals for Andrew’s Laughing Gas.
University of Maryland, Eastern Shore NAACP Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Cairo Harris helped her peer join the bone marrow donor registry.
Coppin State University Gamma Phi Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Bone Marrow Drive
Kae’lyn Carrol and Taylor Dames, members of Gamma Phi Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, raised awareness about the need for diversity on the bone marrow donor registry on campus.
March
CIAA Fan Fest Vendor Village Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Shamiriyah Darby not only volunteered at the CIAA Fan Fest Vendor Village bone marrow registry drive, but also decided to register as a potential donor!
Meals with Heroes
Siafa Andrew, Fatou Salla, Andrew Cox, Tom Radford, Will Englehart, Jacob Parker, and Kiro Rezkalla, employees of Clark Construction, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing a Mexican casserole for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
April
Live & Sweaty Total Health Fair Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Darrin Bonsu and Jamal Raheen, members of Alpha Phi Alpha, educated people about the need for diversity on the bone marrow donor registry and guided those interested in becoming potential lifesavers through the registration process.
Red Shoe Shuffle Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Jennifer Umana, a nursing student at Towson University and a member of the Students’ Nursing Association, raised awareness about the need for donors on the bone marrow donor registry at the Red Shoe Shuffle.
Meals with Heroes
Erin Feister, Amy Whitmore, Sydney Brooks, Julianne DeGroat, Geneau Thames, and Chrissy Dickerson took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing a Mexican casserole for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
University of Maryland, College Park Alumni Association Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Royal Eze and Joanna Qian, students at the University of Maryland, College Park, educated students and alumni about the need for donors on the bone marrow donor registry.
African American Community Roundtable Health Expo Bone Registry Marrow Drive
Arianna St. Jean helped her father register as a potential lifesaver.
Community College of Baltimore County Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Andre Ifill, Coordinator in the Wellness Department of CCBC and blood cancer survivor, educated students and staff about the need for donors on the bone marrow donor registry on all three of CCBC’s campuses.
May
Towsontown Spring Festival Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Amanda Giebels not only volunteered, but also joined the bone marrow donor registry at the Towsontown Spring Festival bone marrow donor registry.
University of Maryland, College Park Chinese Student Association Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Anne Rong and Li Turner, students at the University of Maryland, College Park and members of the Chinese Student Association, raised awareness about the need for diversity on the bone marrow donor registry.
Loyola Blakefield Bone Marrow Donor Registry
Lillian Richards Smith and Andrea Hernandez helped seniors at Loyola Blakefield join the bone marrow donor registry in honor of Join for Joe.
Meals with Heroes
James Brunner, Frank Hensley, Dan Colasurado, Donald Russell, Keegan Mastroe, and David Dennett, employees of Transatlantic Spirits, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing a Mexican casserole for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
June
Andrew’s Laughing Gas Summer FUNdraiser Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Lucy Marks registered several individuals to the bone marrow donor registry in honor of Andrew Mercier at the Andrew’s Laughing Gas Summer FUNdraiser.
Run Up to Juneteenth 5k Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Andrea Hernandez, Maksymilian Oster, and Mahika Vedire educated runners at the Run Up to Juneteenth 5k about the lack of diversity on the bone marrow donor registry and registered several potential lifesavers.
Meals with Heroes
Stephanie Moschera, Rachael Gillis, Gina Ramsey, Coral Norman, Shannon Maddox, employees at Pink Dog Digital and Mount Washington Tavern, along with Executive Director of There Goes My Hero, Mary Kaye DiUbaldo, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing a meatball sliders for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
Under Armour Cards of Encouragement + Care Bags
Daniel Miller, Marissa Cellulare, Gabby Munez, Devon Stella, employees at Under Armour, took a moment to pose for a photo while creating cards of encouragement for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
July
Union Church Cards of Encouragement + Care Bags
Members of Union Church created cards of encouragement and assembled care bags for blood cancer patients and their caregivers on Serve Day.
Meals with Heroes
Nancie Seymour, Mary Jo Ford, Ron Seymour, Taylor Siene, and board member Anthony Davis, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing a hearty chicken pot pie, seasoned green beans, refreshing tomato cucumber salad, and a variety of desserts, including strawberry shortcake, potato chip cookies, and peach cobbler for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
Cards of Encouragement
Elizabeth Liu, a student a Bryn Mawr, posed for a photo with all the punny cards of encouragement she created.
August
Meals with Heroes
Jackie Tangires, Michele Gillum, Noel White, Ellen Platt, and Janet D’Agostino, employees at the Option Group, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing roasted chicken and vegetables for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
September
7th Annual Bob Bell Automotive Charity Golf Tournament
Paula Dill Caruso, Mary Kaye DiUbaldo, Bird Bishop, and Heather Graham sold raffle tickets at the 7th Annual Bob Bell Automotive Charity Golf Tournament.
Morgan State University NCNW Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Zipporah Ogabo, president of the Morgan State University Section of NCNW, registered as a potential donor.
Kunte Kinte Festival Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Ava Wahl and Maimunah Conteh educated attendees at the Kunte Kinte Festival about the importance of diversity in the bone marrow donor registry.
Meals with Heroes
Walter Perry, Marcela Burbano de Lara, Arnetta Jefferies, and Nicholas Potee, employees at Live! Maryland, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing a Mexican casserole for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
2024 National HBCU Week Conference Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Andrea Hernandez and board member, George Hall, educated students, alumni, educators, and leaders from all over the country about the need for diversity in the bone marrow donor registry and registered dozens of potential lifesavers over the course of three days at the 2024 National HBCU Week Conference.
Baltimore County African American Cultural Festival Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Ogechi Onyekwere, Bintou Fofana, Andrea Hernandez, Briana Davis, and Cheryl Rhodes raised awareness about the lack of diversity on the bone marrow donor registry at the Baltimore County African American Cultural Festival and registered several potential donors.
Care Bags with Amazon MTN2
Employees from Amazon MTN2 took a moment to pose for a photo while assembling care bags for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion and University of Maryland Medical Center.
October
Meals with Heroes
Susan Wiercinski and Olivia Lewis created cards of encouragement for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
Marymount University Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Zeria Cumming helped students registered as potential donors at the Marymount University bone marrow donor registry drive.
2024 Chris Rachuba Cup
Racers prepared to take off on the tracks at the 2024 Chris Rachuba Cup.
HeroPalooza
Susan Wiercinski and Shreya Srinivasan sold raffle tickets at HeroPalooza.
November
Johns Hopkins University Alpha Phi Omega Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Members of Alpha Phi Omega helped their peers join the bone marrow donor registry.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County FASA Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Members of the Filipino American Student Association helped students register as potential lifesavers.
Coppin State University Zeta Epsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Shayla Harris and Ajah Logan, members of the Zeta Epsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, raised awareness about the need for diversity in the bone marrow donor registry and swabbed dozens of potential heroes.
Meals with Heroes
Blair Leach, Patty Munley, and Connor Gleason, employees at LINQ, took a moment to pose for a photo while preparing baked ziti for the patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
Clark Construction Cards of Encouragement
Employees at Clark Construction created Thanksgiving cards of encouragement for the patients at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
Messiah Community Church Bone Marrow Registry Drive
Denise Johns and Christine Johnson educated attendees about the need for diversity in the bone marrow donor registry at the Messiah Community Church.
December
Kramon and Graham Cards of Encouragement
Employees at Kramon & Graham created cards of encouragement to remind patients the community is supporting them during such a difficult time in their lives.
Gordon Feinblatt LLC Cards of Encouragement
Employees at Gordon Feinblatt LLC also created cards of encouragement for the patients at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion.
Cards of Encouragement
Students from Bel Air High School created 51 punny cards of encouragement to show patients and caregivers that we support them during their battles with blood cancer.
As we look back on a year of hard work, we are reminded of the importance of teamwork and dedication. Thank you, volunteers, for everything you did in 2024!
If you’re interested in volunteering with There Goes My Hero, fill out this volunteer application or email andrea@theregoesmyhero.org to learn how you can make a difference.