1. mymyHERO
HERO
Because
every
little
hero
needs
a
big
one.
National
Fam
ily
Caregiver’s
M
onth
2010
Give
Thanks
&
Support
Their
Caregivers
During
National
Family
Caregivers
Month

2. mymyHEROHERO
I
love
that
you
stick
to
me
like
glue
when
I
am
sick.
-­‐-­‐
Alex

3. mymyHEROHERO
Thirty
days.
Thirty
children.
Thirty
stories.
During
the
month
of
November,
celebrate
National
Family
Caregiver’s
Month
with
a
gift
that
will
have
a
real
impact:
a
$30
donation
that
will
help
the
caregiver
of
a
catastrophically
or
terminally-­‐ill
child.
myHERO,
an
initiative
of
the
Andre
Sobel
River
of
Life
Foundation,
is
calling
on
you,
mothers,
fathers,
grandparents,
siblings,
and
others,
to
support
caregivers,
who
are
the
heroes
that
makes
things
a
little
easier
and
less
scary
when
a
child
faces
a
serious
illness.
Donations
for
$30
will
go
to
help
alleviate
the
burden
faced
by
single
caregivers.
Follow
myHERO
on
Twitter
@asriveroflife.
Tweet
for
awareness
and
share
your
experiences
by
using
the
hashtag
#myhero.

4. mymyHEROHEROTheir
Stories
Thirteen
year-­‐old
Christopher
has
a
very
aggressive
bone
cancer
and
has
already
endured
a
lower
leg
amputation
to
prevent
the
disease
from
spreading.
Just
when
his
family
thought
his
treatment
was
wrapping
up,
Christopher
had
a
relapse
and
is
now
back
in
the
hospital
because
the
cancer
has
travelled
to
his
lungs.
While
he
bravely
fights
to
overcome
his
cancer,
Christopher’s
mother
is
at
his
bedside
every
day.
Sadly,
like
many
parents
caring
for
a
child
with
a
life-­‐threatening
illness,
Christopher’s
single
mom
lost
her
full-­‐time
job
during
the
intense
treatments
following
Christopher’s
initial
diagnosis.
To
make
ends
meet,
she
has
patched
together
the
family’s
finances
with
odd
jobs.
Now,
working
is
simply
not
viable.
She
must
be
at
Christopher’s
bedside
to
provide
comfort,
love
and
advocacy.
ASRL
has
already
stepped
in
to
catch
the
family
up
on
its
electric
bills,
but
they
will
have
many
more
urgent
financial
needs
as
Christopher
fights
for
his
life.
You
can
be
a
hero
for
Christopher
and
his
mom
by
supporting
them
with
a
financial
contribution
today.

5. mymyHEROHERO
An
overlooked
population
of
caregivers
gets
highlighted
this
November
during
the
myHERO campaign:
the
caregivers
of
terminally-­‐ill
children,
the
heroes
who
these
children
turn
to
for
comfort
and
protection
when
battling
terminal
illness.
November
is
National
Family
Caregiver’s
Month,
but
the
terminally-­‐ill
children’s
caregivers—parents
and
close
relatives—are
not
often
recognized
for
the
care
and
comfort
they
provide.
The
recent
healthcare
cuts
in
hospitals
and
clinics
across
California
alone
had
a
dramatic
effect
on
safety
net
programs
that
provide
relief
to
these
caregivers.
As
a
result,
millions
of
California
children
and
their
primarily
single
parent
caregivers
are
facing
even
greater
problems
affording
the
health
care
they
need.
It
is
not
surprising
that
their
cries
to
the
Andre
Sobel
River
of
Life
Foundation
for
monetary
assistance
have
quadrupled
since
last
year.
Nearly
75%
of
the
households
aided
by
Andre
Sobel
River
of
Life
Foundation
are
headed
by
single
parent
caregivers.
“This
invisible
community
has
few
emotional
or
financial
resources,
and
little
to
no
support,”
observes
Valerie
Sobel,
Founder.
Caregivers
Overlooked

6. mymyHEROHEROLittle
Ways
to
Give,
Big
Impact
Help
A
Caregiver
Get
to
the
Hospital
Sometimes
the
simplest
thing
–
like
having
enough
money
for
bus
fare
–
can
keep
a
father
and
child
from
getting
to
the
hospital
for
the
child’s
regular
chemotherapy.
Your
gift
of
$10
will
pay
for
bus
transportation
so
that
the
child
can
receive
critical
medical
treatment.
Help
relieve
a
family’s
financial
burden
so
that
Dad
can
focus
on
his
child’s
healing.
$10
Buy
a
Gift
Card
For
Cell
Phone
Minutes,
Gas,
Food
When
a
child
is
diagnosed
with
a
life
threatening
illness,
family
finances
get
stressed
fast.
If
mom
quits
her
job
to
stay
with
the
sick
child,
and
dad
is
on
disability,
where
will
the
money
come
from?
Even
the
simplest
purchases
-­‐-­‐
for
food,
diapers,
gas,
medicine
-­‐-­‐
can
overwhelm
a
family
struggling
to
care
for
a
child
with
a
terminal
or
catastrophic
illness.
Your
gift
will
purchase
everyday
essentials
for
a
family
in
need.
Thank
you
for
allowing
the
family
to
focus
on
the
child’s
health
by
easing
their
financial
burdens.
$3o
“My
mom
helped
me
get
through
the
hardest
part
of
my
life…she
surpassed
the
role
of
mother
and
became
my
best
friend.”

7. mymyHEROHEROLittle
Ways
to
Give,
Big
Impact
$90
$120
Buy
Groceries
When
a
Child
is
Sick
When
a
child
is
catastrophically
ill,
things
happen
fast.
Medical
bills
add
up.
It's
expensive
to
travel
to
the
hospital,
and
soon
enough
the
money
runs
out.
It's
stressful
enough
to
have
a
child
with
a
life-­‐threatening
illness.
Having
to
worry
about
how
to
feed
siblings
back
home
adds
more
stress.
Your
gift
will
soften
a
family's
burden
and
let
Mom
or
Dad
focus
on
the
sick
child.
Just
knowing
that
the
refrigerator
is
stocked
for
the
family
back
home
helps
a
parent
cope
better
during
a
traumatic
time.
Bring
a
Grandparent
to
Care
for
Brothers
&
Sisters
Back
Home
When
a
child
is
diagnosed
with
a
life
threatening
illness,
life
changes
in
an
instant.
Siblings
especially
need
love
and
comfort
during
such
a
scary
time.
Your
gift
will
help
with
gas,
a
long
distance
bus
fare
or
a
plane
ticket
so
that
a
grandparent
can
come
to
care
for
them.
Not
only
will
you
give
these
brothers
and
sisters
the
support
they
need,
but
you
will
give
Mom
peace
of
mind
knowing
that
she
can
stay
at
the
hospital
to
focus
on
the
sick
child’s
healing.
“My
dad
told
me
that
I
could
not
give
up,
and
I
decided
that
if
I
was
going
to
live,
it
was
going
to
be
for
him.”

8. mymyHEROHERO
“Pediatric
disease
happens
to
an
entire
family.”
Valerie
Sobel,
Founder
Andre
Sobel
River
of
Life
Foundation
The
Andre
Sobel
River
of
Life
Foundation
was
created
in
the
wake
of
founder
Valerie
Sobel’s
loss
of
her
teenage
son
Andre
from
an
inoperable
brain
tumor.
She
realized
that
it
had
been
a
blessing
that
she
was
able
to
care
for
her
son
and
not
worry
about
finances
and
other
resources.
Upon
discovering
that
many
single
parents
with
critically-­‐
ill
children
are
forced
to
chose
between
working
to
provide
basic
needs
and
staying
with
their
terminally
ill
child,
she
created
the
foundation
to
relieve
this
financial
and
emotional
burden.
Now
in
its
tenth
year,
the
foundation
pays
urgent
expenses
so
that
single
parents
can
stay
by
the
bedsides
of
their
catastrophically
ill
children.
Since
2000,
ASRL
has
provided
$4
million
in
urgent
assistance
to
9,300
family
members
in
22
states.
Share
in
Our
Story

9. mymyHEROHERO
Donate
Online
at
http://bit.ly/4EM5FQ
Mail
donations
to:
Andre
Sobel
River
of
Life
Foundation
P.O.
Box
361460,
Los
Angeles,
CA
90036
T:
310-­‐276-­‐7111
F:
310-­‐276-­‐0244
For
media
inquiries
and
other
information,
please
contact
Christina
Gagnier.
T:
909.576.1411
E:
gagnier@realpolitech.com
Contact
Us