Rosemary A. Hockney Memorial Foundation

Who We Help

Meet Our Kids & Families

Mackenzie Smith, age 6 of Clawson, Michigan was diagnosed to have a Wilms Tumor, a serious form of childhood cancer in April 2006 and had a recurrence of her disease in August 2006. Since then Mackenzie has had multiple surgeries, has been in and out of the hospital for extended stays, as well as receiving intensive chemotherapy. Mackenzie was being treated at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Mackenzie lost her battle with cancer on February 12, 2008. Mackenzie loved dressing up, doing her makeup and painting her nails. She was also very devoted to her little web-based pets, Webkins. Mackenzie is survived by her parents Jeremy and Debra, and her brother Cooper and sister Madyson. On February 13, 2008 a grant was awarded to Mackenzie’s family that covered all of Mackenzie’s funeral expenses

12 Year Old Ashlee Drouillard was diagnosed with Synoval Sarcoma, a very serious pediatric cancer that has required multiple hospital stays and clinic visits. Her parents have missed a lot of work and their income has greatly decreased. They have experienced significant financial hardship with Ashlee’s diagnosis. On December 31, 2007 a grant was awarded to the Drouillard family. This grant provided significant relief with the Drouillard’s mortgage, utility and other past due bills.

Philip Robinson, age 17 of Detroit was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma in March of 2007. Veronica Robinson is Philip’s mother and is a single mom. Veronica has missed a lot of work during Philip’s treatments. Because of this, she fell behind in her mortgage and other bills. We were contacted in September of 2007 by Children’s Hospital of Michigan to introduce us Philip’s case and the families need of assistance. After learning that Veronica and Philips home was being entered into foreclosure, we awarded an immediate grant on September 21, 2007 that brought the Philip’s mortgage current and out of foreclosure. Unfortunately, Phillip lost his battle with cancer on October 10, 2007.

Isabella and Madeline Dunn, age 5 months of Flint. On July 4, 2007 Alissa and Michael Dunn were blessed with the birth of twin girls, Isabella and Madeline. In early September, both Isabella and Madeline were diagnosed with stage IV Neuroblastoma, which is a very aggressive cancer of the abdomen. Isabella and Madeline are one of only six cases known in which both twins have been diagnosed with cancer. Isabella and Madeline have a 2 year old big brother whose name is Isaiah. On September 29, 2007, we participated in a benefit that provided financial support to the Dunn family. The Dunn girls are being treated at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. The Dunn family have been placed in our Holiday Giving program, as well as a special gift will be awarded to the Dunn children in the spring of 2008.

Sarah Porter, age 7 of Kalamazoo was diagnosed with inoperable brain stem glioma with optic glioma on both eyes in 2004. She has undergone aggressive treatments over the last 3 years, which includes extensive radiation, brain surgery and the removal of her left eye in March of 2005. Sarah is being treated at The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. In October of 2007 a grant was awarded to Sarah’s grandmother, who is her primary caregiver. This grant award provided mortgage, utilities assistance and $1,000.00 in gas cards to help with the frequent travel costs to Cleveland.

Juvonta Canty, age 10 of Detroit recently received a bone marrow transplant at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in hopes of curing his leukemia. Juvonta’s mother has missed a lot of work because of his treatment schedule. On October 24, 2007 a grant was awarded to Juvonta’s family, which provided financial assistance with rent and repairs to their automobile.

Natalie Perkowski, age 11 of Macomb Township was diagnosed with a benign Ganglioglioma in May of 2007. On May 30, 2007 Natalie underwent surgical resection of the tumor. Because of the size of the tumor and its location it put Natalie at high risk for brain damage during the surgery. Natalie did not recover well from the surgery and remained dependent on a mechanical ventilator for an extended period of time. She has endured a lot of physical therapy and recovery over the last 6 months and was discharged home on October 22, 2007. She still requires total assistance with all activities of daily living including feeds through a gastric tube, bathing, physical exercise and muscle stretching. Natalie’s prolonged hospitalization required her father to miss a great deal of work. On Sunday November 11, 2007 we were involved with a fundraiser that was held to benefit Natalie and her family.

Juan Hernandez, age 11 of Miami , FLA. Because our foundation is a Michigan based organization that provides financial assistance to Michigan residents only, we were unable to provide direct assistance to Juan’s family. Juan lost his battle with cancer in November of 2007 and his parents did not have the financial means to provide a proper burial for their son. They contacted many organizations throughout the State of Florida and across the country to try and gain some financial assistance. We were contacted by one of our supporters who had heard of Juan’s case and we were asked to get involved to help this family. Through the generosity of one of our partners, The Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation, we were able to provide funeral cost assistance to Juan’s parents.

Agatha Bond, age 43 of Detroit is a single mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2007. Agatha has been unable to work since her diagnosis, which includes an aggressive treatment schedule. Her inability to work has caused great financial hardship for Agatha and her 14 year old daughter, Ashley. On December 10, 2007 a grant was awarded to Agatha, which will provide immediate assistance with her car payments, rent, utilities and groceries. In addition Agatha was placed in our Holiday Giving program, which will provide a wonderful Christmas for both Agatha and Ashley.