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Supports Cancer & Dementia

The Tommy Foundation was initially established in honor of my mom. Then it became an amazing support for my dad. My mom battled cancer 3 times and beat it twice. When she was diagnosed the last time, I brought in a soft blanket for her. When she placed her hand on it, I saw a moment of peace come over her. That moment will stay with me forever. My mom fought this last time with incredible courage and amazing grace. She spent many months in the hospital and her blanket stayed with her until the very end. It gave her an extra amount of TLC and a bit of comfort of home.

After my mom passed away, I immediately moved my dad to be closer to me because he suffered from dementia as well as several other debilitating diseases. My dad struggled on a daily basis finding conversation, purpose in his days, and trying to remember my mom passed away. I started having my dad help me make the blankets. We would talk about the program and who we were making them for. The daily conversation gently reminded my dad that my mom was gone.  In the beginning, my dad was able to actually cut the fabrics and tie the knots around the edges. As the year progressed, my dad declined quickly, so we would sit together and we would tie the knots together. Conversation was always difficult, but with the blanket between us, we would just quietly work together. It was incredibly peaceful for the two of us. It allowed my dad to relax and he actually would remember stories of the past and share them with me. Towards the end of my dad's life, the blanket would keep my him warm and I would sit with him and tie the knots. I had my dad for a year after my mom passed away, and the blankets gave us such a special time together. I never imagined two pieces of fleece could bring such comfort, first to those who suffer from dementia and for people fighting cancer.
 
My goal for the Tommy Foundation is to provide each cancer patient the same comforts and peace the blanket brought my mom while they are going through chemotherapy. The program has been expanded to provide families who visit their loved ones in a memory care unit a project that will ease the difficulties of conversation and provide purpose in their loved ones life. The blankets are then collected and distributed to my local hospital's cancer unit.

Tommy was my mom's nickname given to her by her father!

Children's Literacy

Bonnie's Baskets of Books is a literacy foundation in honor of my mother-in-law, Bonnie. She absolutely loved her grandchildren and had such a passion for reading, especially to them. To continue to celebrate Bonnie's life, baskets of books are being placed in communities in the New York and Pennsylvania areas for children to have fun selecting free books to read. The hope for this foundation is to inspire children to find a passion for reading.

Self Paced 5K

This 5K is for ANY FITNESS LEVEL! It is a stay at home-move at your own pace 5k to raise money for research for Alzheimer disease & dementia. Take 1 day or 5 days to complete the 5k - 3.1 miles. Just start moving!! At the end, you can honestly say you completed a 5k and that is an incredible feeling!!
DottiesDonation's 2017 initiative is to bring HOPE for a cure. When you are done, you just head over to https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=9120&9120.donation=form1 and make a $10 donation. Your donation will go directly to the Alzheimer's Association. Just indicate you are participating on www.facebook.com/absolutelydottie event's page so Dottie can estimate the amount of money raised!! DottiesDonations will be sponsoring a 5k every 6 months. The events run each year on the following dates:  February 10-February 14 and August 12-August 16.