Some Background
Our story is about a very normal family of 4 from Delaware whose lives were changed forever due to an untimely cancer diagnosis. The community we come from includes friends, relatives, and businesses from Wilmington & Rehoboth Beach, St. John the Beloved Parish, Padua Academy, and Salesianum High School (dad was class of '87). We were brought up believing that family & faith are our first priorities. We were taught to live life to the fullest - to take chances and take advantage of the world that is out there. We learned that horrible things happen to good people but you have to deal with it & support others in the process. In our process, we were touched by thousands of individuals from around the country (as far away as Germany, Ireland, and China) who reached out to help us. What follows is who we are now and how we hope to continue giving back.
In March, 2005, our healthy dad found a lump on his neck which was diagnosed as sarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer. Over the course of 18 months, he went to the best doctors and did everything he could to overcome his illness so he could spend more time here on earth with us. Unfortunately, God had other plans and our dad went to heaven on October 7, 2006. After that happened, we decided that we wanted to help fight cancer so that other kids don't have to lose their parents. We thought of the name - "Kids Kickin' Cancer" to tie in that this is the fight of kids for other kids and to tie in our dad's love of soccer (hence the kickin').
With the help of family, friends and a strong community, we organized two inaugural events in 2007: a 5K Run/Walk and a Golf Tournament. These two events raised approximately $20,000 for cancer research at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center in Delaware. Our goal is to continue to raise funds for cancer research and to help care for individuals with the disease. Part of your contributions will be invested to realize our dad's dream of creating a beach retreat near Rehoboth Beach for families to have a temporary escape from their trials & tribulations with cancer. Please join us in helping to fight this horrible disease!
Love, Alicia and Brandon Lewandowski (classes of '09 Padua and '11 Salesianum)
