HISTORY OF ‘DONATEA.COM':
The founder Dan Geelan was an IBM salesman
whose largest customer was MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING, the world
renowned cancer hospital in New York City. During his many sales
calls to the hospital Dan witnessed first hand the fear on the face
of families as they waited anxiously in the lobby and cafeteria for
news from the doctors who were working on their loved ones
upstairs. In 1995, Dan contracted cancer and was successfully
treated at Memorial. He subsequently became a volunteer and
visited cancer patients daily in their rooms. Dan chatted with
them; passing the time of day and giving them hope that there could
be a happy ending in spite of their current situation. After having
spoken to a ‘cancer survivor’, the patient was given new hope and
often sat up and thought ‘well- maybe I won’t die after all’.
In 2003 Dan got sick again. While enduring
some very difficult procedures for more than one year, including
chemotherapy and twice daily radiation, he was cured again. This
was when he truly knew what he had to do. While extremely rewarding
and useful, Dan had to go beyond his daily visits and do something
to help more people with cancer, particularly the children with
whom he interacted with daily. This is what ‘DONATE A’ is all
about- SHARING...
THE SITUATION:
The most devastating thing to witness is
little children who are battling cancer. The blank look in their
eyes make our hearts go out to them. While they seldom smile, they
never seem to cry- even when they are hooked up to the massive
machines that radiate their tumors and pour chemo into their tiny
bodies daily.
They never ask ‘why me’? They have incredible
faith and confidence in their parents and grandparents- secretly
hoping and praying in their own little way that the next procedure
or prescription or needle will be the last.
CANCER CHILDREN ARE SHARING CHILDREN: