Valerie Fund 'Thermometer' Will Update Donation Totals

Watch for a giant thermometer in front of the municipal building in Warren to help the residents see the progress as the community works toward a goal of raising $100,000 for Valerie Fund Pride Month.

Warren Township Mayor Carolann Garafola announced that the month of May will be Valerie Fund Pride Month, a town-wide initiative to raise money for this local pediatric cancer charity. There are currently several children from Warren being treated at The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers.

Her proclamation will involve the participation of Warren schools, businesses and civic groups in various fundraising activities and all proceeds will be counted towards The Valerie Fund Walk and JAG Physical Therapy 5K Run’s goal of raising $1,000,000.

“We are very excited to have the members of our community come together for this town wide campaign,” Mayor Garafola said.

Deputy Mayor Vic Sordillo will be part of the this kickoff with the Mayor as he and Committeeman Gary Di Nardo are kicking off a year of activities for Pride in Warren and the Valerie Fund Foundation is one aspect of those activities. 

More than 35 years ago, Warren residents Sue and Ed Goldstein founded The Valerie Fund after their daughter, Valerie succumbed to cancer in 1976 at the age of nine. The Goldsteins wanted Valerie’s courage to be memorialized in a meaningful way. During her six years of treatment, Valerie and her parents would travel several hundred miles a week to hospitals in New York City, the only place where Valerie could receive the most advanced care. 

The Valerie Fund was born in the Goldstein’s basement by a group of benevolent friends supporting the Goldstein’s wish that no family should have to endure what they had during Valerie’s treatment. The idea was simple:  To provide families with outpatient treatment centers at top pediatric hospitals within an hour’s drive of most of the state’s population.

In 1976, The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers at Overlook Hospital in Summit was the first of seven centers to provide state-of-the-art medical and emotional care in a happy, upbeat, child-centered atmosphere. Today, these Centers comprise the largest network of healthcare facilities for children with cancer and blood disorders in New Jersey, and one of the largest in the nation.

Annually, more than 4,000 children and their families turn to The Valerie Fund for the combination of medical care, counseling and other psychosocial services.

Organizers are predicting the collaborative efforts of Valerie Fund Pride Month will help set the tone for The Valerie Fund Walk and JAG Physical Therapy 5K Run to be held on June 9 in Verona Park, Verona. More than 4,000 people are expected to walk, run and support some very brave kids---kids very much like Valerie Goldstein but with the benefit of receiving comprehensive health care in a local setting.

Over $550,000 was raised last year—and Warren Township’s Central School was a key contributor and sponsor at that event. The 2012 goal is $1,000,000 and Bunny Flanders, director of Communications and Public Relations at The Valerie Fund says it is an ambitious goal but one that is attainable with community wide involvement much like the Township of Warren’s commitment . 

For more information about this campaign and to learn more about the walk, visit the Valerie Fund website.