2nd Annual Benjamin Felder Aflac Toy Drive

Hi everybody!

My name is Joey Felder, and I am a second-year medical student at Emory University's School of Medicine here with a fundraiser to buy Christmas gifts for the children in the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

The Aflac Cancer Center has always had a special place in my heart. On February 10th, 2004, physicians discovered a tumor in my younger brother Benjamin's liver, approximately the size of a golf ball. He had been formally diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma - a rare form of childhood cancer. From that moment forward, the Aflac Cancer Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta became a second home to my family. After numerous rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, many nights of my family sleeping at the hospital, and trials that no child should ever be faced with, he had finally gone into remission. New scans showed no visible cancer left, but unfortunately, we were blessed with that gift for only about a year. On a follow-up visit, Ben had some scans performed, showing new evidence that his cancer had returned. From then on, we were only given one more month with him until, on April 27th, 2006, my brother passed away from his cancer. Although his cancer had taken his life, it didn't touch the impact Ben left on everybody who knew him. With that said, I would love to present a fundraiser to buy Christmas gifts for the children in the unit.

As someone who spent a large portion of time in the hospital with my brother, I know the impact that books, games, and other toys can have on the children in the hospital. Kids faced with cancer are often stripped of their childhood, being forced to grow up much earlier than they should have to. The toys not only act as a distraction for many of the kids when undergoing complex procedures, but they also restore the inner child that each patient in the Aflac Cancer Center truly deserves to be. One of my favorite memories of my brother is him riding around the unit on his BigWheel tricycle; this allowed him to escape from the reality of the unit and restore the childhood he deserved.

If you have the means to contribute, I hope the children at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is something you would like to donate to. All donations will go towards buying Christmas items for the Children in the unit.

If you would like to contact me for any reason, please feel free to email me at [email redacted].

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

From Ben's brother,

Joey