CORY SANDERSON & THE SANDERSON CUP

Day 7 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING:

Christina and Cory Sanderson never met.  Cory was diagnosed with ALS in early 2015, Christina was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in Spring 2016.  What happened after is pure Christina, and vintage Cory.  Through mutual friends, Matt was introduced to the Sanderson Cup in 2017.  Of course he went and had a great time meeting Cory and his wonderful family and friends.  Met an amazing family in the entire Sanderson clan, and also met a St. Laurence guy and his wonderful wife Donna, and of course this guy Dan Breier went to school with cousin Johnny.  Of course he did!  I knew that instant what was going on here: this was epic Christina orchestrating the whole thing.

The Sandersons and the Breiers are household names in our world now, as are so many other people Christina has made us meet.  And there are big hugs, both real and virtual, when we see these wonderful people, either at the Sanderson Cup or the Celebrating Christina Gala, as Dan and Donna Breier have made the CCCF part of their mission, and St. Laurence guys don’t do anything half way.  

Cory was called home last year.  I know Christina was waiting to welcome him; I am sure he has gotten a big hug. 

And we have gotten such big hugs from our friends the Sandersons and the Breiers and everyone involved in the Sanderson Cup. What a family!   What great friends!!  What great role models!!

For more about ALS, click here

For more on the Sanderson Cup, click here

Please consider a donation to the charity at www.celebratingchristina.org/donate.

One day, one goal, one big hug at a time.

PEACE

Day 20 of 25 DAYS OF HUGGING:

Christina attended Queen of Peace High School in Burbank, IL, along with 20-some of her cousins; it was like their home away from home.  It also allowed her to branch out with a new group of friends, and she followed the family path to work at the Egg Store on Archer (if you’ve never been to the Egg Store, you have no idea what you missed in that old-fashioned neighborhood market!!!).

These were the years when Christina learned about support, support from people as her Mom began a long fight against breast cancer.  There was huge hugging to celebrate an early diagnosis of remission, and then there were hugs to support the troops when the cancer came back.  But Christina’s circle was growing fast, and there were even more people who got to share in those hugs and smiles from her new group to hug at Queen of Peace.

Christina and her cousin Laura at their high school graduation from Queen of Peace

Queen of Peace and its “brother school” St. Laurence came on hard times in the early 2000s.  Christina remained a supporter of “Peace” all those years, understanding what a close-knit group of people can mean to one other.  Through dedicated alumni and devoted staff, those two schools have merged and again are thriving as a place that can help produce more young men and women with the virtues that institution has to offer now.  To see how close Christina and her classmates remained is to understand what made Christina the empathetic and caring person she was, the great hugger.

For more on the remarkable St. Laurence and Queen of Peace revitalization story, please visit http://www.stlaurence.com/

Please consider a donation to CCCF: www.celebratingchristina.org/donate

One day, one goal, one huge hug.