Local teens step up in the fight against childhood brain tumors.
We are Fazl Shaikh and Jacob Ellen, the two co-presidents of the One Life, and we are passionately driven to support Making Headway Foundation’s mission due to our own personal experiences with childhood brain cancer.
We have been motivated by the fact that pediatric cancer research receives only 4% of total federal cancer research funding and a similarly small share of funding from pharmaceutical companies. Since its inception at Scarsdale High School, One Life has raised over $45,000 for Making Headway with the goal of playing some part in fixing this disparity. Most recently, One Life at Middlebury College held a “spina-thon” event where they partnered with the campus’s spinning studio to hold paid classes all day, with all the proceeds going to One Life.
Obviously, one small organization is not going to fully solve the gap in cancer research funding, but One Life is confident that our fundraising efforts have helped pediatric cancer patients and their families navigate their disease with Making Headway’s support. We both plan to continue our efforts to fundraise and spread awareness for pediatric central nervous system tumors after graduating from Middlebury College in May 2020.
How this started
Fazl’s best friend in middle school, Jack Reyna, tragically passed away from a brain tumor in 2012. Jack and his family received support and services from the Making Headway Foundation throughout his treatment cycle. Jacob was diagnosed with a brain tumor during his freshman year of high school, and was treated at the Hassenfeld Center at NYU, one of the treatment centers Making Headway supports.
