Join us in raising awareness of teen and childhood cancer, and be someone's hero! Alex, nicknamed "Champ," was diagnosed with brain cancer when he was 15 years old. After being told there were no more treatment options, he moved many hearts with a simple request. He asked if we could help make the time teen cancer patients spend in the hospital a bit brighter and bring attention to their unique circumstances. Through our partnership with the Princeton Area Community Foundation, the AMMF is able to provide 100% of funds we receive to our partner hospitals. All funds from this event will benefit K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital at Jersey Shore Univesity Medical Center's newly created Alexander Muñoz Memorial Fund's TEEN CANCER FUND. This fund will bring items of comfort and distraction specifically to pre-teen, teen, and young adult patients. These patients are often an overlooked group who could use our support.
The AMMF also provides gifts and technology to the oncology unit at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where Alex was a patient, as well as the Valerie Fund Children's Center and the Unterberg Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center, where Alex was a volunteer. We have provided laptops and tablets to help pre-teens, teens, and young adults maintain their social connections, keep up to date and complete schoolwork, watch movies, and play games while they are confined to the hospital. We also provide game systems to help distract these warriors from their discomfort and situation. Our Champ's fund also contributes to a social work oncology fund to help struggling patients' families with expenses such as gas, food, and medicine. The AMMF is committed to raising awareness for teen and childhood cancer. We were astounded to learn that only 4 cents out of every dollar spent by the National Institutes of Health is allocated to children's cancer research. Cancer is the #1 disease killer of children. 1 in 5 children who are diagnosed will die from cancer and 2/3 will develop complications from their treatments, including secondary cancers. Astonishingly, only 3 new childhood cancer drugs have been developed in the past twenty years. Remember, childhood cancers are different diseases than adult cancers; most of these cancers are specific to children only. Knowing this, we have donated $50,000 to the Center for Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine for childhood cancer research at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Alex passed away on 11/11/2014 when he was only 16 years old. His hope was to help other teens and children battling cancer. We can raise awareness, lift the hearts of these warriors, and fulfill Alex's wish. Let's do it together! Join our team and fight for our kids...like a Champ! For more information, please visit www.alexmunoz.org or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook/alexmunozthechampscorner
