Organized by Leukemia Research Foundation
Team Members
Fundraise
Event
ZUMBA FOR A CURE!
Saturday from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM CST
In Person
Join us as we ZUMBA FOR A CURE with instructors Carli Kander Esposito, Rebecca Castro and Vivian Armenian! For the past 18 years, the Jessica Shayne Magid "Chai" Chapter of the Leukemia Research Foundation has had a major fundraiser in memory of Jessica Shayne Magid. Jessica lost her battle with leukemia at the young age of 13. Join us on Saturday, November 19th at the Wilmot Elementary School Gym (795 Wilmot Road, Deerfield, IL 60015), for non-stop Zumba from 1pm to 3pm. Light refreshments will be served and you will also have the opportunity to check out our fabulous silent auction full of restaurant gift certificates!
Story
Jessica Shayne Magid was born on April 4, 1972. She was an alert, bright, talkative toddler. At 21 months, she developed a high fever and was very lethargic. After several tests, leukemia was the final diagnosis.
Jessica often visited Children's Memorial Hospital three times a week for treatments. Painful spinal taps, blood testing, oral chemotherapy, and whole-body radiation were the mainstays of her young life. She remained in remission for many years and continued her regular hospital visits. Lapses in remission did occur, but Jessica was a brave young lady who endured periods with extreme weight gain, loss of hair, and inability to grow to the height of her peers. Jessica had the smiles and optimism of an endearing child through all her travails.
The highlight of her life was celebrating her bat mitzvah at 13, leading a complete service, and reciting a portion of the Torah she had learned to chant in Hebrew. No one was more proud of her accomplishments than Jessica. As a gift from her father for her Bat Mitzvah, Jessica, her dad, and sister, Stacy, traveled to Israel in June.
Later that summer, evidence showed her inability to remember well, especially school subjects. She had endured a seizure earlier in the year and was having difficulty concentrating. New chemo was administered, but Jessica was not responding well. On December 17, 1985, Jessica was taken by ambulance to Lutheran General Hospital, where she clung to life for another week. On December 24th, she died, leaving a terrible void in the lives of all who knew her.
In 2006, the Jessica Shayne Magid "Chai" Chapter was officially formed to raise awareness and donations for the Leukemia Research Foundation. To learn more about the Chapter and events they host, click here.
The Leukemia Research Foundation’s mission is to cure leukemia by funding innovative research, and to support patients and families.
As the nation's largest nonprofit focused exclusively on funding leukemia research, our grants are accelerating the development of new and better treatments and an ultimate cure for leukemia.
Leukemia is a complex disease with dozens of subtypes that differ in clinical presentation and treatment response. Our grants fund a broad range of topics so researchers can investigate leukemia from every angle. For more information on our breakthroughs, visit our News page.
Through our patient-centered approach, access to leukemia experts, and nationwide partnerships, our support programs help patients and their loved ones navigate every step of the cancer journey.
Our goal is to provide leukemia patients and their families with a single and trusted source for information, education programs, and support services and connect them with other credible organizations and resources.
With more than $83M raised in support of this mission, we are on the path to finding a cure – and won’t stop until we do.
Visit https://leukemiarf.org/ to learn more.
