Nestor Grullon

Pat Kelly

Piotr Kolodziej

Letitia Mingledolph

Gloria Rucobo

Raquel Rohlfing

PJ Schmidt

Carla Tardif

Through Small Acts of Kindness

Pat Kelly was a long time friend of Family Reach Foundation's Director of Development and Operations, Carla Tardif. Carla's dedication to the Family Reach mission stems from a personal promise she made to her Syracuse University classmate and friend, former NFL player Pat Kelly, before he passed away from cancer in 2003.

Through the NFL, Pat frequently visited pediatric wards at hospitals across the country, and saw first-hand the devastating impact that seemingly small expenses, such as cab fare and groceries, had on the families of the patients. Pat would leave the hospital after treatment and tell his friends about some of the heartbreaking real life situations he saw parents struggling with in addition to having a child with cancer. He witnessed a single mom whose little girl was in treatment, crying on the curb at the hospital entrance because she didn't have enough money for cab fare to go pick up her other child at day care. He saw a husband and wife arguing at a vending machine because they were hungry and didn't have enough change to get something to eat. Pat knew we all had to "DO SOMETHING" to help these families and until we found Family Reach Foundation, none of us knew what to do.

Because of Pat's experience and the reality he shared with us about how the everyday bills were the last straw to families who were already struggling with such incredible emotional and financial hardships, we are now able to help hundreds of families who are experiencing exactly what Pat witnessed first hand. These small acts of kindness are priceless gifts to families who are dealing with so much.

Pat Kelly would have been proud of our efforts through the Family Reach Foundation and the families we are helping in his memory are indirectly experiencing the love of a friend we have lost but will never forget.

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