Share the Cure 2019 Raises Over $120,000

Keira Grace Foundation raised over $120,000 at its annual fundraising event held at Cade Museum on February 23. Share the Cure 2019 was the nonprofit’s fourteenth annual fundraiser. Over 200 guests were in attendance to generously raise funds to support the medical team and staff at the hospital in Santo Domingo.

“Funds from Share the Cure 2019 will be used to continue to support the expanded team of nurses hired over the last year to improve the quality of care received by children with cancer in the Dominican Republic,” says Dr. Michael Lauzardo, president and co-founder of Keira Grace Foundation. “In addition, it has become apparent that complications from infections have caused some unexpected problems so we are investing heavily this coming year to take further steps to reduce the risk of infection among the children we care for through our program. We plan to hire and train nurses in how to prevent infections among children on chemotherapy and we will build, to our knowledge, the first infection control team in the Dominican Republic.”

ABC News Correspondent and Host of What Would You Do?, John Quiñones, was the featured keynote speaker for Share the Cure 2019. He shared his odds-defying journey from migrant farm work and poverty, to more than 30 years at ABC News and the anchor desk at 20/20 and Primetime. He also provided thought-provoking insights into human nature and ethical behavior, while delivering a powerful message of believing in one’s self, never giving up, and always, always doing the right thing.

Share the Cure 2019 also marked the fifteen year anniversary for the Keira Grace Foundation. Throughout the last 15 years, Keira Grace Foundation has brought hope, restoration, and life to children with cancer in the Dominican Republic. They have successfully changed the trajectory of survival rates by more than 400 percent.

Corn Hole Cup Tournament 2018

KEIRA GRACE FOUNDATION CORN HOLE CUP TOURNAMENT

Gainesville, October 25 –– On November 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Cypress and Grove Brewery, Keira Grace Foundation is hosting a Corn Hole Cup Tournament to raise money to bring hope, restoration and life to children with cancer in developing countries. The Corn Hole Cup is a bracket-style tournament that is fun for the whole family! The Top Four teams will go home with a $100 cash prize and the Grand Champions will win the championship trophy. Pre-registration is $20 per person and $25 at the door. There will be food trucks and all entrants will receive one free drink.

The Keira Grace Foundation was started in 2003 hoping to combat the fact that the survival rate for children with cancer in the United States was 80%, but for children in developing countries, the fatality rate is 80%. Michael and Eileen Lauzardo could not rest knowing that survival depended on where children lived.

“If your child is diagnosed with cancer and you live in the United States, there is an excellent chance that your child will survive. But if you live in a developing country and your child is diagnosed with cancer, then that diagnosis of cancer is the same thing as a death sentence. We wanted to make a big impact for those kids with absolutely no hope,” said Michael Lauzardo, Co-Founder of Keira Grace Foundation

The Keira Grace Foundation creates a collaboration between U.S. oncologists and medical teams in developing nations, by supporting 4 key areas of cancer treatment: staffing, training, infrastructure, and consultation. After 15 years, the Keira Grace Foundation has properly trained a team of doctors and nurses, provided necessary facilities and equipment, and built a Share the Cure House, which can house up to 24 families while their child is receiving treatment. Due to these improvements, the Keira Grace Foundation has seen the survival rate for children with cancer rise to 80% in the Dominican Republic Hospital.

“By delivering proven cancer treatments that we have here in the United States, we can increase survival rates by more than 400% in developing countries and we can do it for a fraction of the cost,” said Stephen Hunger, Medical Director of Keira Grace Foundation.

In order to support this cause, people can attend the Corn Hole Cup Tournament at Cypress and Grove Brewery on November 9th, at 6:30pm. Tickets can be purchased on the Keira Grace Foundation website, www.keiragracefoundation.org.

Gainesville Shares the Cure

A record-breaking $71,000 was raised at Keira Grace Foundation’s annual fundraising event held at the Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall on Feb. 16. The nonprofit’s eighth annual fundraiser, Share the Cure, brought the Gainesville community together for a virtual house raising of the Share the Cure House that will open in the Dominican Republic this year.

The actual five-story house in Santo Domingo serves as a home away from home for families of children who are undergoing cancer treatments at Hospital Infantil Dr. Robert Reid Cabral, in the Dominican Republic. The event also showcased advances being made through the nonprofit’s campaign, “Deliver the Cure: Dominican Republic, which creates a collaboration between U.S. oncologists and the medical team at Hospital Infantil Dr. Robert Reid Cabral while supporting four key areas of cancer treatment: staffing, training, infrastructure and consultation.

“The funds which were so generously donated will be used to continue to support the ongoing treatment of children with cancer in the Dominican Republic, as well as help to initiate the smooth transition to a functioning Share the Cure House, says Dr. Michael Lauzardo, president and co-founder of Keira Grace Foundation.

“This facility will allow families to have a safe, comfortable and free place to reside during their child’s treatment.

Former University of Florida wide receiver and Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee, Chris Doering was the honorary chair for the event and announced he will be hosting trips to the Share the Cure house once it has opened.

Share the Cure 2013 was hosted by WCJB TV 20 evening anchor David Snyder and media personality Ilene Silverman. The event included a special performance by NBC’s former “The Voice contestant, Nathalie Hernandez, and a photographic journey of a Dominican child with cancer and her family was presented. The photographs were shot by Gainesville-based photographer, Randy Batista, on a recent trip with Dr. Lauzardo to the Dominican Republic.

“It’s hard for most people to comprehend the incredible journey that these families risk to bring their child to the hospital for treatments, says Dr. Lauzardo. “It was important for us to illustrate the hurdles that these families encounter to show how vital the Share the Cure House is to them.