Were happy to announce 35 new registrants for the bone marrow registry at last Sundays bone marrow drive at Hope Astoria! It was so encouraging to see so many people ask questions, become informed and ultimately make the very personal decision to commit to potentially donate bone marrow to someone in need. Hope Astoria is an incredibly beautiful, diverse and gracious community and we all enjoyed our time there.

Thank you for joining the lottery to save a life!

Hi!

Cheekswab will be hosting a bone marrow drive next Sunday, August 27th, at Hope Church Astoria in Astoria, Queens.

Dan will be sharing his story and about bone marrow donation this Sunday, August 20th, at both 10am and 1130am services.

Hope to see you there, and please help spread the word!

Hope Church Astorias contact information:

Address:
36-14 35th Street
Astoria, NY 11106
near SW corner of 35th St 36th Ave

Parking:
Free street parking usually available.

*Our building is air-conditioned and handicap accessible.

Subway Directions:
N or W trains: Exit the “36th Avenue“ stop, walk east on 36th Ave for four blocks, take a right on 35th St., and the building is the second on the right.
R or M trains: Exit the “36th Street“ stop and walk north on 35th St. for one and a half blocks. The building is between 37th Ave and 36th Ave, and will be on the left side close to 36th Ave.

Two weeks ago, on Friday 3/17 and Sunday 3/19, we ran a bone marrow drive at Grace Covenant Church (GCC) in Philadelphia, PA at UPenns campus. Of all the bone marrow drives and speaking engagements Ive ever done I think this one meant the most.

I was a Penn undergrad and GCC attendee when I was diagnosed with AML on December 7, 2006. The same room in which I shared my story for 40 mins on Friday is the same room that my friends wept and prayed for my life in 10 years ago.

The drive was in honor of Arthur Halim, a Penn undergrad and GCC attendee who died of leukemia in July of last year.  I never met Arthur or knew him personally so initially I really struggled with what to say. But after speaking with some of his friends and reflecting on some of his own words before he passed I realized how much our experiences overlapped. I heard about his struggles with school, his desire to survive, the intensity of his sickness and the grace and peace in which he met death. Eventually the words came, and Fridays talk went really well.

We registered 190 total people across Friday and Sunday services. While I do my best not to get caught up in numbers, 190 is insane more than double our total for all of 2016. The sheer amount of people who were willing to commit to join the registry and sacrifice for others was amazing to see.

Although Arthurs bone marrow transplant didnt save his life it gave him four additional months four months he spent returning to campus to see his friends. Through Arthur so many people were able to see, in real terms, what committed bone marrow donors can mean for others.

Sharing the story of Cheekswab at Penn was the realization of a dream Ive held for 10 years. I still remember the night that Cheekswab began as a promise on my hospital bed, at a hospital only steps away from the events of Friday and Sunday. I could have never imagined then that Id be back at Penn sharing that story a decade later.

Thank you to the gracious friends from both Philly and NYC who volunteered their time to help run the drive. Its literally only via the support from volunteers like you that Cheekswab can be a reality.

And a special thank you to everyone who joined the lottery to save a life!

Rest in Peace, Arthur Halim. You are gone but not forgotten, and it was so clear all weekend that your friends in Philly love and honor you.

Cheekswab will be hosting a couple bone marrow drives this weekend at Grace Covenant Church (GCC) in Philadelphia, PA at their University City (UC) site. The UC site meets on the campus of UPenn in Meyerson Hall.

These bone marrow drives are in honor of Arthur Halim, a UPenn undergraduate student and GCC attendee who passed away from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in July 2016.

On Friday, March 17, Dan will be speaking at GCCs Friday Night Large Group which begins at 7pm. Dan will be sharing about his own time at Penn (10 years ago!), his reflections on his time with cancer, Cheekswab, and his thoughts on Arthurs life and legacy. Dan and Eunice will host a bone marrow drive immediately after large group in the Meyerson auditorium with an expected start time of 9:00pm.

On Sunday, March 19, Cheekswab will be hosting a much larger bone marrow drive for the 350+ attendees to GCCs Sunday service. Dan will again speak (albeit much more briefly) during service and a group of Cheekswab volunteers will facilitate a bone marrow drive after service in rooms B2 and B3. Sunday service begins at 11:15am and the drive is expected to begin on Sunday after service, which is roughly 1:00pm.

Hope to see you there, and please spread the word!

Sorry for the long overdue recaps (my wife and I moved apartments this month which seriously consumed our lives) but Id like to thank the 29 people who decided to become bone marrow donors in the past month!

On Wednesday, 9/28/2016 we ran a drive with NYUs Asian Christian Fellowship, where 22 new people signed up:

and on Sunday, 10/22/2016, we ran at drive at Grace Faith Church in Chinatown NYC, where we were able to register 7 new donors:

Thank you to everyone we met and spoke to everyone was super encouraging, with a number of people from the NYU drive who were already registered (!) and several at Grace Faith Church who said they wouldve joined if they met age/medical qualifications. While the ultimate goal is to register as many minority donors as possible, spreading awareness and reception of the message is the road to making that happen.

Ill never forget the frustration I felt on my hospital bed about the fact that despite a lack of minority donors being a huge problem I had never heard about it. No one reached out to the minority communities I was a part of.

These drives are part of the road we travel to making that happen. Thanks to everyone for listening to my story, and please dont hesitate to share the story with others in your life for whom it may be relevant.

As always, another shout out to all of the friends who help volunteer to help staff our drives. Cheekswab isnt a reality without your support.