The mama bear foundation, inc.
- CARING for families affected by cancer -
Isabel Ciocci with her student, Tanner Graves.
Shelby with her son, Johnnie.
Mike, David, and Kris Graves using their expertise in cooking to serve families in need around the holidays.
Challenged by a dear friend and donor, the TMBF team made a home cooked meal for 10 families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in San Francisco shortly after Thanksgiving. The team prepped and cooked spiced pork loin with cranberry chutney, gourmet macaroni and cheese, and two types of salad. In addition, we left a care bag for each family at the house. Each care bag contained essentials like a fresh toothbrush with toothpaste as well as non-essentials like playing cards and snacks for the long days in the hospital.
The Ronald McDonald House - San Francisco, CA
Jenn Guthmiller, pictured with her husband and 2 children.
Anthony Hubbell receiving an award at school.
Anthony Hubbell, at just 13 years old, has an inoperable brain tumor with a permanent shunt in his head to drain the fluids and keep the pressure from affecting his everyday functionality. Anthony, along with his parents and 3 siblings, were provided with meals each week and for the holidays as well as clothes, books, christmas gifts, and rent assistance in order to help his family stay focused on his care, health, and well-being.
The Hubbell Family
Shelby with her son, Johnnie.
Kapri wearing her TMBF shirt while at the airport on her way back to St. Jude's for more treatments.
Kapri Geernaert, a spunky, outgoing 5 year old finishing up her kindergarten year, was diagnosed with a massive malignant brain tumor. After surgery at UCSF to remove the tumor, Kapri and her family headed to St. Jude's in Nashville, TN for intensive chemotherapy treatments. Kapri's parents took turns staying with her for treatments while the other parent kept the household and two other daughters going strong. Family support is crucial in the recovery of any cancer patient, especially that of a small child. To support the efforts of having the entire family together as much as possible, TMBF donated an airline gift card good for 3 round trip tickets to Nashville along with goodie bags for each girl with a shirt, games, snacks, and some essentials for their trip.
The Geernaert Family
At just 38 years old, Jennifer Guthmiller of Elk Grove, CA was in the fight for her life against melanoma. Jenn had a very active support group, one of whom reached out to TMBF on behalf of the family. A beloved wife and mother of two, Jenn and her family were provided holiday meals to help ease the stress of the holidays and allow the family to focus on their time together.
The Guthmiller Family
Isabel Ciocci, a local preschool teacher in Santa Rosa, CA was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. As a single mom supporting a son in high school, Isabel and her son were provided with food and rent assistance during her initial treatment.
The Ciocci Family
After conquering the battle with breast cancer once, a few years later Shelby Lushenko was diagnosed with breast cancer again. With the goal of beating the disease a second time, the family did everything they could to ensure Shelby received the treatments she needed. Through her son, Johnnie, TMBF connected with the family and were able to provide them home cooked meals once per week for a year, a year's worth of phone service, and a year's worth of internet service so Shelby could stay connected to her doctors.
The Lushenko Family