‘Random Acts of Kindness’ Help Purchase Chemo Care Kits for Kids

NORTH CAPE MAY – Jennifer Dolbow wants to thank the community. She’s also asking for donations to put together 60 Chemo Care Kits for children in the cancer ward at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
She also wants everyone to know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
She was inspired by what she saw while visiting a 10-year-old boy whom she tutored this summer. He has relapsed with acute myeloid leukemia in his central nervous system and is undergoing treatment at CHOP.
“I am so touched by the members of our community; I want to thank everyone again for their response to our request for donations to purchase Chemo Care Kits. I am also asking for donations still, for the chemo kits, and to buy snacks for the Ronald McDonald House,” she said.
“It’s these random acts of kindness of people responding that really have touched me,” she added. “People are so thankful for what they have. We are so blessed to be happy and healthy that it makes me feel good to help others, and it makes others feel good as well.”
Dolbow, who teaches at Wildwood Catholic High School, tutors students during the summer.
“This summer I had the privilege of tutoring a 10-year-old boy whose family has a summer home here,” she said. “The student’s name is Brandon and he missed almost all of third grade battling leukemia. Three weeks ago, Brandon started having weird symptoms and was sick every day. His family took him back to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and they were told that the leukemia was back.
“I cried for two days because I was with Brandon three to four times a week all summer and we have grown very close,” said the mother of three. “We all went to the park and did movies on the beach in Cape May this summer. I love this kid like he is my own.
“On Wednesday, instead of sitting here crying, I decided I wanted to do something,” she continued.  “I got the idea to make Chemo Care Kits for all the children in CHOP. Including Brandon, there are 60 kids on the cancer ward.
“He never complains, he’s just happy to be alive,” she added about the youngster. “I had never been to a children’s cancer unit, and his attitude made me feel better. He’s such a fighter for a little guy, with a real zest for life.”
A friend of Dolbow’s had previously made Chemo Care Kits so she reached out to her for assistance. The friend sells the bags for $20 each. “She had friends donate money, but I thought that would be $1,200, that’s a lot to ask,” Dolbow noted. “So I took my children and we went to stand out in front of Walmart. In an hour-and-a-half, we had made almost $400. The next day, we went to ShopRite and made another $103. One person we didn’t even know donated $40!
“I called the owner of Joe Canal’s (Rio Grande) and asked him if we could stand there,” she continued. “I taught his boys last year, so he had no problem letting us stand there. In two hours, we raised $309. The next day I started a GoFundMe Page and we received donations through that as well.
“In less than a week, I raised over $1,900 for these chemo kits,” she said. “I also had a friend donate 60 coloring books and 60 crayons, one for each kid. Dr. Jeffrey Vecere (Court House orthodontist) donated 70 Chapsticks for the bags. Jackie Johnson from the Imperial 500 Motel, Wildwood Crest, donated a box of lotion (144 total) for the bags so every kid can have two. Two local photographers having a show donated 100 percent of their sales from the show, which added another $103.”
“The response in such a short time has been amazing,” she added.
The Chemo Care Kits will be “real cloth-type bags” inscribed with inspirational sayings, Dolbow explained. They will contain Chapstick, tissues, hand sanitizers, dream catchers “for good dreams,” crayons and coloring books, and lotion. “It’s something they can keep with them at their bedside while going through treatment.”
While her goal was to raise enough to cover the cost of the bags and supplies for the Chemo Care Kits, Dolbow said any extra donations would be given to the Ronald McDonald House for snacks for the families who stay there. “The children in the cancer ward are those who have to stay in the hospital for their treatment,” she explained.
Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House provides comprehensive and compassionate hospitality and support to oncology and cardiac patients’ families while they are providing care and support to their child, according to their website.
The Family Room at the Oncology Center provides families with a quiet retreat from the hospital setting, together with a family-style dining table, comfortable seating, kitchen facilities, and a guest bathroom. There is also a laundry room equipped with a washer and dryer, a folding station, detergent and laundry baskets. The room also provides a television/DVD/VCR system.
Brandon’s family is relying on the Ronald McDonald House Oncology Floor Living Room while he is undergoing treatment. “He will get at least two more rounds of chemotherapy and 10 days of radiation to the eyes,” Dolbow said, explaining that the youngster has a chloroma in his spinal fluid (collection of leukemia cells outside the bone marrow) and leukemia cells wrapped around his optic nerves.
“After he clears his leukemia, he will be set up for a bone marrow transplant,” she added. “We need prayers, as many as we can get.” They are also looking for bone marrow transplant donors to be typed at https://bethematch.org .
Dolbow is no stranger to taking up causes, having gotten a state-wide day Jan. 21 to raise awareness about Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), of which her son has been diagnosed. Her children, who became close to Brandon this summer, also were eager to help.
“I actually was surprised at how much my kids wanted to help,” she noted with a chuckle. “For little kids to stand anywhere for a couple of hours is a miracle, but they did it.” Her children are 11, 8 and 6.
“This has been a great life lesson for my children,” she said. “I have always wanted to make the world a better place and it has affected my children because they want to do something also.
“It’s been just a great experience overall,” she added. “We have been so lucky to have the community respond like it has. Thank you to everyone who did, or will.”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.