Tony Foundation gives $5,000 checks to families with a working-age cancer fighter, who can no longer work due to treatment + has a family with kids at home to support.

Brain cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, thyroid cancer... a few of the many types of cancer in the 200 families we have supported in 7 years.  

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." A cancer diagnosis always seems to come out of the blue, and is always horrible news. In honor of my wonderful mom, Maureen Cleary. We have missed her for 20+ years. She would have turned 74 this Friday, December 5.

Many of you know the story, but here it is again:

It was September 2004 and my mom was still working at St Malo's Catholic Retreat Center near Estes Park, Colorado, going hiking, grilling out, baking, enjoying family and friends and the Rocky Mountains. The year before, she had become Grandma to little Mo (the only grandchild she would ever meet) after fighting Stage 1 breast cancer. I knew something wasn't quite right when we were together at the Cleary Family reunion that summer. And then again when I visited her in early September while in CO for a friend's wedding. A few weeks later, the doctors told her that her breast cancer was back and had spread... stage 4. She would live for just a few more months. She was the best mom ever... truly. Everyone who knew my mom loved her. She was the kind of person who always made you feel happy, cared for, and just better by being around her. I miss her EVERY day, and it's easy for tears to come thinking about her and the loss we all still carry. 

In support and honor of my mom's memory, thank you for considering a donation to Tony Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping cancer fighters who are working age, supporting kids at home, and needing financial assistance as they cannot work due to their cancer fight. I sit on the board of this organization and its founder, Tony, and the rest of the organization, are all dedicated to the mission from personal experience.

Tony Foundation is a non-profit corporation originally formed in Austin, Texas. We provide critical financial assistance to families affected by cancer.

This program provides $5,000 checks that serve as gap funding to assist with various expenses for families whose primary income earners, in their most productive years, have been diagnosed with cancer and are unable to continue employment. According to oncology professionals, income is the #1 need for the majority of patients and their families during the toughest battle of their lives. We seek to make an impact on these patients by helping to eliminate this financial burden so the patient can focus on what's most important, their health and their family.

Our founder, Tony Laudadio, faced this very predicament – first, when he was diagnosed in his 20's, with renal cell carcinoma – and again, two years later, when he was diagnosed with brain cancer (completely unrelated to the renal cancer). He understands the struggle of facing a sudden battery of tests, treatments and surgeries, while being unable to continue his career due to cancer. Immediate expenses pile up quick, adding to an already intense level of stress and worry. Please join me in our mission to help make a direct impact on these families that need our donations.

Some of the 200 families we have helped and $1 million given away because of our donors' generosity.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT + HELPING US CHANGE LIVES!!