Michael Danziger
Making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate is what Family Reach Foundation Ambassador, Michael Danziger, is all about. For twenty years, Michael has been helping underprivileged kids gain access to better and more competitive schools in Boston as founder of the Steppingstone Foundation. The idea for the program first came to Michael while he was working towards his master’s degree in education at Harvard University. “I started thinking about the difference between the families who are fortunate to have resources and access to great education and the families who sort of by the flip of a coin didn’t have as much access and how dramatically different their lives would be given the educational access that they had,” Michael explained. “So I just decided then that I wanted to start a program to bridge that gap and anyone who was willing to work hard could have access to a great education. And that was 20 years ago and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Seeing the differences that his own work in education makes in the lives of kids, Michael was also drawn to the mission of Family Reach because of the differences it makes in the lives of families coping with the overwhelming challenges of cancer. “I just love the before and after possibilities of what I am doing, which is just one of the things that really drew me to Family Reach – the tangible difference that the interventions have with the families.”
When Family Reach Development Director, Carla Tardif presented Michael with an opportunity to help single mom, Raquel and her young son Mikalo (Kalo), a 3 year-old with leukemia, he was grateful to be in a “lucky situation” in which he could again make a meaningful difference. Kalo had been battling leukemia for a couple of years. His mother Raquel was unable to work due to the care he needed, so when the nest egg she had saved for their future was depleted, she and Kalo had to move to a homeless shelter. Raquel never sought help until Kalo needed a bone marrow transplant. When a perfect bone marrow match was found, Raquel knew that she needed to ask for help. The bone marrow transplant could not be done unless Kalo was in a sterile environment so it was essential that the family move out of the homeless shelter. A pediatric oncology social worker at Dana Farber Cancer Institute soon put Raquel in touch with Carla and Family Reach very quickly provided a grant for a security deposit and first month’s rent in a new apartment. Carla was then able to link the family with Michael Danziger who provided the additional financial support the family needed. “I’ve always been drawn to the opportunity to help others and in so doing, it always enriches me whether it reaches out to a person who is struggling academically, perhaps economically or in Raquel’s case who had a difficult situation with a sick child and a lack of resources.”
Seeing firsthand how his financial support of the family made a real difference in Kalo’s recovery, Michael concluded, “I firmly believe that Family Reach not only addresses a financial issue but actually a medical one because I believe that Kalo’s treatment was far more effective because Kalo’s Mom was able to be with him all of the time and not running around trying to figure out how to get next month’s rent and that sort of thing.”
Prior to meeting Kalo and Raquel, Michael had met Katie Morris, a 12 year-old with brain cancer, and his experience of getting to know her and her family first opened him up to the mission of Family Reach. Michael first learned of Katie when he and his family were watching ESPN’s “My Wish” series and Katie was profiled. “My Wish” featured the stories and special wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses and how these special wishes were granted. Michael was so touched by Katie’s story that he contacted her family and a friendship developed, as he visited back and forth for nine months until Katie passed away. It was a transforming experience for Michael and it also gave him a perspective on how financial stressors affect families fighting cancer. “Katie Morris’ family was struggling financially and just sort of listening when I went to visit, I could see the tension and I could see how Katie knew that things were tough and even gas to make the three-hour drive to the hospital was expensive and she was feeling sort of stressed out that her sickness was causing not only emotional stress but financial stress on her family.”
Michael believes that his compassion for those less fortunate, go back to his days as a kid when he experienced feelings of vulnerability like so many children do growing up. As he reflected, “I always for some reason gravitated towards the underdog and the person who was vulnerable and the person who if only they had a little bit of help from somebody who cared, could be at a completely different place – emotionally, academically and financially. Maybe I always thought that if I were in their position I would hope that there would be someone who would come around and help me. And in fact, lots of people have helped me maybe not financially, but in so many other ways. This is my way of thanking everyone who helped. I always had a teacher, a friend or a mentor who could buck me up at just the right moments.” Whether it’s helping a young boy or girl get a better education, or helping a family coping with the challenges of cancer, Michael cares deeply about making a difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate and he continues to use his talents, education and resources to lift them up.
