Sarah, Mikey, Jay, Sophia & Ryan
We would like to introduce you to a very special family who recently lost their wife and mother.We surprised them with a little bit of joy during the holiday season. We loved seeing the smiles and excitement on these kids faces while opening their gifts. Thank you to our friend Suzy for connecting The Jillybean Foundation with this beautiful family!
Christina
Christina Dutoit is a loving wife and mother of 3 boys (10, 6 and 3). She is also a devoted Special Education Instructional Assistant for the East Brunswick Public School system. She is loved by her staff and students; she lights up a room with her smile and positive energy. Christina is an active member in her community where she has coached soccer and volunteers in her son’s boy scouting events. In August, just after her 39th birthday, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer HER2 Positive and BRCA2 positive – an aggressive and fast growing type. She is currently battling chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy, reconstruction, and then radiation. In spite of the difficult journey that awaits her, Christina believes that there is good and a silver lining to be found in tough experiences.
“It came as a shock. I have always been athletic and lived a healthy lifestyle. The odds of developing Breast Cancer under the age of 40 is less than 10%. Am I scared? Yes. But not for me…for my boys. For my husband. I have decided to fight this with every ounce of strength left in my body. No matter what life throws at me, I will always choose to be grateful for the life I have. And when I ring my bell, I will look forward to spreading awareness and positivity to other men and women going through the same challenges I have gone through. Other’s should know that we are never truly alone.”
Jill
It's our pleasure to introduce you to Jill. Jill is a teacher and single mother to a 13 year old daughter. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in March 2021. Jill's daughter stepped up to the plate and was by her Mom's side every step of the way. Jill has undergone 15 chemo treatments this summer. She is a strong, beautiful woman who is showing her daughter how to fight through anything and she is doing it all with a smile.
Jill
It's our pleasure to introduce you to Jill. Jill is a teacher and single mother to a 13 year old daughter. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in March 2021. Jill's daughter stepped up to the plate and was by her Mom's side every step of the way. Jill has undergone 15 chemo treatments this summer. She is a strong, beautiful woman who is showing her daughter how to fight through anything and she is doing it all with a smile.
Due to Covid and treatments, Jill had to put a pre-planned Disney trip on hold. Jill was going to make this trip work through these surprises on a single income. With the help of 2 men and the support of our community, we were able relieve Jill of that worry!
We are so happy to meet Jill and be able to take some stress and worry off her shoulders so she could truly enjoy this time with her daughter. Welcome to the Jillybean family Jill and Lexie!
Kelly
Let us introduce you to our friend, Kelly! Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram. Luckily, it was caught early and Kelly is out of radiation treatment and doing well! Kelly is a loving wife and mother of 3 beautiful children.
Thanks to all of your donations, we were able to surprise Kelly and her husband with a long weekend getaway!
So happy Kelly was able to enjoy her weekend and relax with her husband. She is a strong woman who deserved this trip to reconnect, make memories and unwind!
Kim
We are happy to introduce to our friend, Kim! Kim is battling breast cancer while taking care of her family of 4 and mother with Stage 4 Parkinsons. We are happy to be able to help this woman and her family. $1,000 of Shoprite gift cards was delivered to Kim before the holidays. A huge thank you to Inserra Supermarkets for matching our donation and bringing some joy to this family!
Welcome to the Jillybean family Kim!
Maria
It is our pleasure to introduce you to our beautiful friend Maria. Maria is a hospital caretaker who was diagnosed with breast cancer in April. She takes care of not only patients but her daughter as well. A coworker brought Maria's story to us and it was decided that this caretaker deserved to be taken care of.
Through donations and apparel sales, Jillybean Foundation was able to take care of 2 months of Maria's mortgage! Now, Maria can focus on recovery from surgery and enjoy time with her family!
Welcome to the family Maria!