With Heartfelt Gratitude, We Say Goodbye

To our Hugs for Brady family,

If you are reading this, you are part of our story — and for that, I am deeply grateful.

After more than 15 years of love, advocacy, heartbreak, hope, and tireless generosity, the Hugs for Brady Foundation has come to the close of its journey. This website now serves as a final goodbye, and a heartfelt thank you to every person who walked beside us along the way.

Hugs for Brady began in 2009, after our son Brady was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia at just 13 months old. When Brady passed away in 2010, at only 23 months old, our grief was overwhelming — but so was the love that surrounded us. Out of that love came a promise: to honor Brady’s life by helping other children and families facing pediatric cancer, and by supporting the research needed to one day end it.

Because of you, that promise became real.

Together, we funded advanced pediatric cancer research, supported targeted therapies at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, helped bring sedation-free MRI technology to children, provided comfort and joy to young patients in hospitals, organized life-saving blood drives, and helped families shoulder the crushing financial weight that comes with a childhood cancer diagnosis. Along the way, we crossed the two-million-dollar milestone — a number that still takes my breath away.

But numbers alone cannot capture what this community meant to us.

You showed up — again and again — with hugs, prayers, donations, volunteer hours, fundraisers, late nights, early mornings, and open hearts. You carried us through our darkest days and turned unimaginable loss into lasting impact. You ensured that Brady’s life mattered far beyond the short time he was here, and that his legacy would be measured in hope, progress, and compassion.
As we close this chapter, I want you to know how profoundly thankful I am. Thankful for every child helped, every family supported, every researcher empowered, and every moment of joy created in places that desperately needed it. Thankful for the doctors, nurses, researchers, volunteers, donors, friends, and strangers who became family. Thankful for a community that never let us walk alone.

While the Hugs for Brady Foundation is coming to an end, the fight against pediatric cancer continues — and I hope you will continue it in whatever ways feel meaningful to you. The need remains great, and the children are worth it.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for believing in Brady, believing in this mission, and believing that love can create change.