Help Taylor raise money

I am raising money for Gilda’s Toronto, which provides cancer support programs free of charge to adults living with cancer and support for their teens and children who are experiencing cancer-related stress as a result of living with someone with cancer. 

I am fundraising for this organization as it is near and dear to my heart, as most of you know I lost my mother to cancer in 2009. 14 years ago a representative from Gilda’s Club Toronto visited my mom and I at the hospital. Amy sat with us, got to know us and then provided my mom with some phablet information about the organization. My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2009, I spent 7 months watching my mother go in and out of the hospital, many doctors visits and spending most of my days after school in her hospital room or laying with her on the couch at home. She fought hard but unfortunately was taken from us on July 11th 2009, a few days after my mom passed my family signed me up for day camp at Gilda’s. A place where kids just like me were also going through cancer related issues or suffering the loss of a family member. A place where you didn’t feel like an outcast, a place where you could be happy, sad or mad and where support was available all day long. I attended the summer day camps for the remainder of that summer and it provided me with support and an opportunity to make friends. We went on field trips and got away from the reality of what was happening at home. I later attended special events at the club house in downtown Toronto, and was enrolled in the teen support groups. I met friends my age, who also had lost a parent and bonded really well with a few of the support workers. Grieving was no longer something that felt weird or lonely but I had a place I could go where I knew I would not feel alone. I was connected to a few other organizations through Gilda's Club such as what was back then the Moyer Foundation which is now Eluna. I was able to attend Camp Erin free of cost, the largest national bereavement program for youth and families grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. Gilda’s club gives support and runs programs for not only those who are affected by the loss of someone due to cancer but those who are fighting cancer as well. 14 years later I look back and cherish so fondly the opportunity I was given, I believe it shaped the person I am today. I am now 25 and have lost my mother, grandfather, grandmother and many more to cancer and still have family and friends fighting this terrible disease today. Please help me raise money for this incredible organization, the support I was given was like no other and I only hope this organization can touch the lives of many more.

By supporting me, you help Gilda’s Toronto continue to fulfill their vision: “to help people live while living with cancer”.  Thank you.