its 4 the kids

FEATURED FUNDRAISER:

2008-05-21T13:02:00.040-04:00

Andrew Taylor Nolt

Andrew Taylor Nolt was a happy healthy kid. He played baseball on a legion team and in high school. He also played basketball in high school. He was a smart kid, accepted to Messiah College to study engineering. In May of his senior year (2007), Andrew was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare cancer that only affects young children. By the time it was discovered, it was all throughout his body although the initial site was in his ankle. Andrew began treatments at John's Hopkins. After 36 weeks of chemo, things were looking good. The cancer was still in his body, but it wasn't growing. Treatments were over for a little while.

Then Andrew started feeling pain again and was getting headaches. A trip back to John's Hopkins showed that the tumors were growing again. He needed more treatment. In the meantime, his brother who was two years older was in a bad motorcycle accident and was in a coma. The parents asked if the chemo could be administered at Hershey so that they wouldn't have their only children in hospitals in two different states. Andrew's second round of chemo and radiation was done at Hershey.

After those treatments, things weren't looking good. They went to Sloan Kettering for another opinion. They had a research group for Ewing's Sarcoma, but it was full and in progress. They were referred to Fox Chase in Philly. Andrew participated in that research group until tests showed that the cancer was in his marrow. That was in August of 2008. Andrew went down hill quickly. On September 30, 2008, Andrew passed away at the Hospice Center in Lancaster.

Andrew was a well respected athlete and student and to honor his dedication to his schooling and sports, the Andrew T. "Bull" Nolt Memorial Scholarship has been created.

The contact for the scholarship is Sue Sanger: ssanger@frontiernet.net.

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Update:
Sweet Coleman earned his wings this month. Please continue to pray for the Larsons!

Coleman Larson is 4 years old. He has endured 1 year + of chemo, radiation, a stem cell harvest and transplant and an Omaya implant. Coleman's tumor continues to grow and his family could use your prayers.

Please pray and send the Larson's a message.

Coleman's carepage is ColemanScott.

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September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Wear gold, shave your head, donate! DO SOMETHING!
For these kids still fighting and those who have crossed over to Heaven.

Video courtesy of Mimi Avery cp: JuliansWorld
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PRAY FOR THE FAMILIES WHO LOST THESE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN!

Scroll down to see what YOU can do to raise money for families like these. Look for the YARD SALE sign!

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WASHINGTON -- They've been in a tough fight with a vicious disease, but two little girls from central Ohio emerged from the Oval Office and walked out onto the driveway outside the White House this morning with wide grins, official pins and presidential words of encouragement.

Hannah Lewis, 7, of Reynoldsburg and Eden Adams, 8, of New Albany, who became friends as they underwent cancer treatment at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, were among those on hand to watch President Bush sign a pediatric cancer bill into law. The Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act was crafted by Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Upper Arlington, and named by lawmakers after her daughter, who died in 1999 after battling neuroblastoma. Both Hannah and Eden used the same word to describe meeting the president and first lady, being given presents and a tour of the Oval Office: "Cool."

The signing ceremony was not open to the press aside from still photographers, but Hannah's mother, Jessica Lewis, said Bush told the families that he knew "we were going through a tough time and wished us the best." Jessica Lewis and Eden's father, Rourke Adams, said they hope the next step after President Bush's signature will be for Congress to approve spending the first $30 million installment this year of what the law calls for: $150 million over five years for such initiatives as expanded pediatric cancer research and a national childhood cancer database. The single parents saw their friendship at Nationwide Children's Hospital, which paid for the families to attend the White House signing ceremony, blossom into a relationship.

"This is something we deal with every day," Rourke Adams said about having a child who is battling cancer. Adams said it is his hope that a fully funded cancer database will in future years give researchers more information about why children develop cancer. After the signing ceremony, Pryce said she was "delighted" to see her legislation enacted. The president and first lady spent a lot of time with the children and families – including Hannah's five-year-old brother, Duncan, and Eden's brother Riley, 14 - before Bush wielded his signing pen, Pryce said.

Bush lost his three-year-old sister Robin to leukemia in 1953 and Bush told Pryce he is looking forward to telling his parents that he got to sign the pediatric cancer bill into law, the congresswoman added. "This is a great step forward," Pryce said. "We have been waiting for this day for years now."

YAY!
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Help to make a difference...TODAY!

Get involved in your front yard and raise money for pediatric cancer families!

Need to get rid of some clutter? Would like to donate your time to a worthy cause?

What if you could do BOTH at the same time? Contact me to register for your very own "it's 4 the kids YARD SALE"! It's easy and quite profitable! You can do it in your own driveway or plan a neighborhood-wide event! Sell your stuff, hand out flyers and send your profits to it's 4 the kids!
Start cleaning out those closets - a cancer family will reap the rewards!

Check out the sidebar -------> and see how many families have been blessed by donations, we could make this so much BIGGER with YOUR help!

**see below for some other families you can help**
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The Larson Family received devestating news this week. After a stem cell transplant in April and a test that showed no cancer cells in his spinal fluid, Coleman's recent MRI showed tumors up and down his spine. They are in need of your prayers!

FRIDAY @ 11am is INTERNATIONAL HUG COLEMAN DAY!
JOIN US! There is power in numbers! PRAY FOR A MIRACLE!
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Jessica Randall was 17...for three days... then she traded cancer for angel wings.
August 9th there is a Wiffle Ball Benefit and JESSICA'S HUMMINGBIRDS (Team #8) will be a team in the tournament. You can use PayPal to donate to their fundraising efforts!
200,000 people are diagnosed with brain cancer each year. Many of those are children. HELP!
Click on the Wiffle Ball Benefit link and then click on the yellow stripe with the PayPal logo to donate! Mention JESSICA'S HUMMINGBIRDS in the details on the donation page.
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Tell us how you found us and what you think of our site. The kids are anxious to hear from you!Proceeds from the sale of artwork on this site go directly to the human side of pediatric cancer. It's 4 the kids!

Follow us and make a difference...

2008-05-16T16:55:00.008-04:00

The kids thank you for stopping by. It's a really great place we have created for them here. Above you can see my 6 special friends who are your tour guides for the day! I will introduce them to you from left to right!

Give Coleman your hand and he will show you to the About Us page where you can see how things got started. Julian will take you around the Chatter area which is the blog portion of the site. Here you can see updates from me or a guest blogger (maybe a little one!). Haley loves sharing her ideas of how to put a smile on the face of a cancer kid so check out 2 Help with her, she will help you find just the right idea. John Eric will gladly show you around the 4 sale page. Here he will introduce you to the women that create custom artwork to benefit kids like him. Mikayla will happily lead you to meet all her friends on the Kids page! She will show you pictures and watch the videos with you. Be prepared to fall in love. These little people will make a mark on your heart forever! Finally, Bailey will plead with you to sign our Guestbook. He wants to know your thoughts and suggestions. Tell us how you found us and what you think of our site. The kids are anxious to hear from you!

Proceeds from the sale of artwork on this site go directly to the human side of pediatric cancer. It's 4 the kids!

Mister Studmuffin with big white teeth

2008-05-01T22:50:00.000-04:00

Yes, his teeth are extremely white! That's right! This is where you'd put all the rest of this info and obviously, since you couldn't post his phone number for the world to see because he married, you'd throw a photo or two of his work down below:

Miss Tootsie Farklepants

2008-05-01T22:46:00.000-04:00

Here's that woman again. Basically, you're gonna enter a bunch of stuff here and then add the photo of what she's selling down here below:

The Kids

2008-05-01T22:43:00.103-04:00

Meet Dustin

Age: 5

Favorites: his favorite color is blue, favorite movie is CARS, and he loves to help daddy work. :)

Dustin was diagnosed with medulloblastoma 5/08, just 2 weeks after his 5th birthday. He has been through 2 resections, 31 rounds of radiation, and is now taking high dose chemo at St Judes in Memphis.
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dustinperry

Meet Bailey

Age: 7

Favorites: Video games, playing Wii, cross country trips, his sisters, Webkins

Diagnosed with Stage III Rhabdomyosarcoma in April 2006, an aggressive soft muscle tumor. He finished his last dose of chemo on Valentine's Day of 2007. He relapsed less than one month after that. After that he relapsed his family told that he had less that 10% chance of survival.

Bailey's most recent scans showed no signs of tumor or cancer cells! He will continue chemotherapy for another 2 years.

carepage: SuperBay

Meet Kieran

Age: 4
Favorites: Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear, his blue Blankie, Power Rangers, Star Wars, and playing with Cars and little men. He loves to play Candyland and Wii. His favorite color is blue and his favorite people are Hope and Haley his sisters. Kieran loves the beach.

Diagnosed February 07 Stage IV Neuroblastoma. After six rounds of chemo and 1 stem cell transplant he went NED (no evidence of disease) 9/22/07. Currently receiving 3F8 Antibodies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC.
carepages: KieranClyde

Meet Jessica

Age: 17

Favorites: literature (especially classic poetry), photography, music, owls

Diagnosed June 2006 with a Grade 3 (anaplastic) astrocytoma

Beautiful Jessica earned her wings June 9, 2007, 3 days after her 17th birthday.

http://caringbridge.org/visit/jessicarandall

Get your Buttons for Jessica!
Donate to the Jessica Catherine Randall Memorial Scholarship Fund!

Meet Lukas

Age: 18 months
Favorites: balls, Nana, music, dancing and singing himself to sleep, big brother Theron

Diagnosed 11/07 Stage IV Neuroblastoma

Lukas is now completely blind due to treatments. But he is CANCER-FREE!
www.caringbridge.org/visit/lukasmacdonnell

Meet John Eric

Age: almost 2
Favorites: golf cart rides, cows, ANYTHING John Deere, his red wagon, his blue bear lovey, Superman, bubbles
Diagnosed 9/07 Neuroblastoma and earned his angel wings 5/08
carepage: JohnEricBartels

Meet Jessica

Age: 9
Favorites: photography, Akai the dolphin, swimming, being with friends and family
Diagnosed 3/06 at age 7 with Stage III Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma
Right leg amputation, relapsed 4/08. Currently receiving daily radiation and chemo. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jessicaeasley

Meet Amber

Age: 11
Favorites: Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, softball, cheerleading, pasta, the color brown and hippos
Diagnosed 4/08 Lyposarcoma. Completed radiation 7/08.

Meet Khalid

Age: 2
Favorites: Diego and Dora, his 8 brothers and sisters, green and blue, the number 4, and the short "A" sound. He likes to go outside and ride his bike and to play on the computer.
Diagnosed 3/08 Stage IV Neuroblastoma
www.caringbridge.org/visit/khalidamos

Meet CJ
Age: 4
Favorites: Spiderman, Iron Man, the Hulk, his buddy Julian, chocolate, salad and nilla milk (pediasure) and playing video games.
Diagnosed with Medulloblastoma December '06
carepage: CJShaw

Meet AJ

Age: 14
Favorites: sports (football, hockey, track) playing the guitar, people, music, animals, movies, good books

Burkitt's Lymphoma stole AJ from his family in 2008 Read AJ's story!
carepage: AJsSpace

Meet Katie

Age: 13
Favorites: blue (hates the color pink), loves her TV and DVR, has a smile that lights up a room, is an excellent student, loves Anime movies and characters, WWE wrestling, purses, and cold hard cash (oh, and gift cards!)
Diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma on Oct. 1, 1999. Relapsed on Mar. 10, 2006.

Katie earned her angel wings in July 2008. Her little sister Erica misses her terribly.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katiekrize

Meet Cole

Age: almost 10
Favorites: red, his sister Crystal, Tae Kwon Do, skateboarding, Legos, Hot Wheels, reading, bike riding, playing handball.
Diagnosed 10/05 with Diffuse Pontine Glioma

Cole went to Heaven August 25, 2006
carepage: COOLCOLE

Meet Elias

Age: 6
Favorites: green, Marvel heroes, doing crafts and drawing
Medulloblastoma diagnosis Sept. '07
surgery to remove the tumor, 31 radiation treatments, 4 courses of high-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell rescue

Meet Coleman

Age: 4
Favorites: His twin Caden, swinging at the park, bird-watching, dancing & singing, John Deere Green, of course his BUNNY FOO FOO! Has been waiting "FOR-ev-ah!" for pre-school!
Medulloblastoma diagnosis Sept. '06 (then 1 yr of chemo)
Relapsed Sept. '07 completed radiation, stem cell transplant.

Precious Coleman won the battle and earned his wings January '08, soon after his 5th birthday. Please pray for Caden.
carepage: ColemanScott

Please visit the TEAM LARSON STORE

Meet Julian

Age: 4 1/2
Favorites: Spiderman, yellow, his Mama (because he loves her "more better"), Lightening McQueen, dancing and he dreamed of turning 5!
Diagnosed 3/07 with Medulloblastoma

After 7 months of treatment and relapse, Julian earned his angel wings in January 2008
carepage: JuliansWorld

Meet Mikayla

Age: 5
Favorites: Playing dress-up, tea party, listening to Hannah Montana, pink, purple and princesses (she thinks she is one). She is looking forward to starting Kindergarten in the Fall.
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Treatments will continue until June 2009
carepage: MikaylaVanWey

Meet Kennedy

Age: 4
Favorites: Groovy Girls!, Spongebob, Coloring, Dancing, playing with her siblings
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

In remission since June 2007
carepage: KennedyGarcia

...MORE KIDDOS ADDED EACH WEEK...

4 Sale - Meet The Artists

2008-05-01T22:33:00.045-04:00

SOCKS by Sally
These bright beaded socks are yellow in honor of King Julian but they also come in pink, light blue, light green and white. They fit girls size 10.5 - 4.

Sally is a full-time mom and teacher personally touched by cancer. Her pretty socks are offered at $8 with 50% going to the KIDS and 50% going to her RELAY team!

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FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS by Karla
These colorful bracelets are perfect for kids to give to each other. What a perfect lesson in "charity"!

$10 each and 50% goes directly to the kids!

Karla (pictured here with Molly) is a SAHM of 4 who was forever touched by our sweet King Julian and wanted to use her creativity to give back. Thanks Karla!

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KING JULIAN DESIGNS by Nomi
This gorgeous ensemble is handmade and comes complete with embroidered yellow sun in honor or sweet King Juju as well as the jewelry seen in the photo!
Periodically these frocks will run on ebay for you to grab!

Meet Nomi B! Stay-at-home mom to Myah and Hudson. In her spare time, she loves to design custom boutique clothing for my daughter and to sell on ebay (ebay id myahpapaya). "I am excited to have this opportunity to help raise money for kids with cancer. After discovering King Julian's carepage, I was hooked, and can never turn back."

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KID DESIGNS by Nancy
Gorgeous personalized gifts for children are offered at i wanted to wonder, a great online store for beautiful handmade items.
25% of all proceeds from this area of their store will be donated to it's 4 the kids!

Nancy, pictured here with her husband and son, is half of the i wanted to wonder concoction. Her mom Pat makes adorable custom clothing for kids. Nancy creates Artwork and Hair Bow Holders for Children. Her passion is painting and caring for her family in Las Vegas, NV.

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CHEMO HATS by Marcy...
These hats are just adorable and come in a variety of colors. There are adult and child-sized hats. Buy one hat for $10 or 2 for $15. You can opt to have one of your two hats donated to a cancer patient local to Marcy. 50% of proceeds are donated to "i4tk!"

Marcy is a mid-30's SAHM who loves to read, blog and crochet. She attributes her spark for pediatric cancer to some fellow bloggers she has met over the past year. She teamed that spark with her love of crocheting and together came the idea for chemo hats.

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PHOTOGRAPHY by Val...

11 x 14 photographs for a donation. You decide the price and Val donates 75% ! "This photo brings me to a place of hope, happiness, beauty and perfection, which as we all know is not just a beautiful sunflower field but is Heaven itself.

Val is a photographer from Monticello, Illinois. Her favorite subjects are children and newborns. She also enjoys drinking coffee while keeping up with her favorite blogs, gardening, shopping, decorating my home, traveling, trying different types of foods and reading chic lit. She loves spending time with her top priority - her kids. "I love being a mother. It's the best gift in life."

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NAMESAKES by Michelle...
These one-of-a-kind personalized pieces have been selling "off the shelves." Whether you are purchasing it for your own child or for someone else, no other gift will come close to honoring a child like this one will.
The child's name will be adorned with any details you specify! $40.00

Michelle Kemper Brownlow is a stay-at-home mom of three and a freelance writer, blogger, columnist and front woman for it's 4 the kids! In her spare time she writes and illustrates children's books and spreads the word about her brain child...it's 4 the kids!

...MORE ARTISTS COMING SOON..If you see something you like or you would simply like to make a donation please use the CONTACT US button to send your request.

Guest Book

2008-05-01T22:31:00.002-04:00

Leave your heart right here!
Tell us what moved you.

How You Can Help...

2008-05-01T22:04:00.005-04:00

Be a gift-giver! Any purchase made from the artists on this site will support it's 4 the kids. Consider it a double gift - you are purchasing a gift to give and you are giving a gift to a child fighting cancer! Watch the site for updates on where your money goes and who was blessed by your gift!

Donate your time! Money is tight, prices are on the rise so if you can't purchase anything at this time don't fret, it's not the only way. Call your local hospital and see if you can start a regular story time in the chemo wing. Even if it is just once a month, you will be a blessing to the children there. But, don't forget to sign our guestbook so we know what our site inspires!

Spread the word! Pass this site on as many people as you can. Put a link on your blog or email me for the html for an animated sticker for your blog. Email your friends and family! Tell the world about the kids that have touched your heart!

Pray! Go to our The Kids page and scroll through their stories. Look at their faces. Let yourself get attached and then pray until your knees hurt! It's the biggest gift you can give!

About Us

2008-05-01T22:02:00.005-04:00

it's 4 the kids started simply. I fell in love with a little boy I had never met. Julian had cancer. His life was cut short but not before he touched the world with his precious smile and his amazing strength.

December 3rd, 2007 I wrote on my blog about a cross-shaped piece of cheese and I watched in awe as the world came together for this 4-year old little man who was fighting Medulloblastoma. My readers called for donations, prayers and fasts...they even declared a National Hug Juju Day! The world wept 6 weeks later when Julian Michael Avery earned his wings.

This outpouring of love and support for a complete stranger was something I had never witnessed and I was inspired to reach out to other children and their families through the giving hearts of strangers.

its 4 the kids is a team of artists who are passionate about making a difference in the lives of children like Julian. Through our passion and our love for these "Cancer Kids," we are inspired to create beautiful pieces of artwork to raise money for the human side of cancer. There are many avenues to raise money for research but that is not where my heart is leading me. My heart is leading me to reach out and provide in places few are reaching toward.

When I mentioned the notion on my personal blog it only took minutes for people to step up to the plate - hearts on their sleeves! So, whether it is helping a family in a financial bind, making a wish come true, footing the bill for a concert on hospital grounds or just spending time doing a craft with some kids getting chemo, the fundraising we do on this site is from the heart and it's 4 the kids!

Fly high, King Julian!

I am always looking for new artists to add to the 4 sale page...and I welcome any sweet faces to add to the Kids page! Click on contact us and send me your info!