September 7, 2010, 11:00 am - 10:00 pm - 1st Chili's Helping Out, Brenham, Texas

CHILI'S HELPING OUT COUPON - CLICK HERE

 September 15 - 25, 2010 - Late registration for Adam's Angels D-A-S-H

September 25, 2010, 8:30 am DASH - Adam's Angels D-A-S-H & Post Activities

September 30, 2010, 11:00 am - 10:00 pm - 2nd Chili's Helping Out, Brenham, Texas

CHILI'S HELPING OUT COUPON - CLICK HERE

Mid October 2010 - Donors begin contacting AAM for Adopt-A-Family at Christmas

October 15, 2010 - Tickets On Sale for the 6th Annual "I Can Only Imagine" Luncheon

November 12, 2010, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm - 6th Annual "I Can Only Imagine" Luncheon, Janis Sneed Banquet Room - Blinn College Student Center, Brenham, Texas

Mid November 2010 - Candlelighers begin matching AAM with familiies for Christmas

December 1 - 15, 2010 - Meet with your Adopt-A-Family and deliver gifts

December 6, 2010, 9:45am - 3:30pm - BCA's 10th Grade Service Project with AAM

December 15, 2010, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm - Children's Cancer Hospital of M D Anderson's Children's Christmas Party

Thank you to the following Sponsors:

ANGELS

Blue Bell Creameries

Del Sol Food Co. Inc./ Briannas

KTEX/KWHI

5 Star Country Properties

HEROES

Brenham Christian Academy

fancy that!

Gullo Ford-Mercury of Conroe

Must Be Heaven

Thielemann Construction Co. & Stegent-Thielemann Plumbing

Total Land Investment

 WARRIORS

C. Michael Altman, DDS

Brenham Collison Center

Scott & White Hospital Brenham

TFE Company Inc.

The ‘I Can Only Imagine' Luncheon was at the Blinn College Student Center today (Friday). It's mission is to raise awareness in the community, fulfill the needs of the families, giving from the heart, encouraging involvement, loving children and serving families dealing with childhood cancer.

By ALLISON P. SMITH/Staff Reporter
Published:
Friday, July 17, 2009 11:19 AM CDT

Blue Bell Creameries had a new chief executive officer for the day as Paul Kruse, who normally holds that position, presented 5-year-old Delaney Starcher with a certificate and gave her and her siblings silver dollars commemorating Blue Bell's centennial anniversary.

Delaney is battling diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a cancer in the brain stem. She was diagnosed last October and was told that she would survive for only nine months.

Her visit here was organized by Adam's Angels Ministry, a locally based organization that helps families who have children diagnosed with cancer, children undergoing treatment and those who have lost a child because of childhood cancer.

Bill Weiss, Blue Bell's public relations manager, took Delaney on a private tour with the rest of her family Thursday morning. Delaney was able to see places that are not on the regular tour. She hung out with Kruse for a little while, she was able to walk the floor and see how the ice cream was made and she saw the advertising and marketing department.

"We saw over 125,000 visitors at Blue Bell ... but to see Delaney takes the tour to a whole different level," Weiss said. "Seeing the courage and spirit in Delaney has humbled us all. It makes us feel really good that we can do something small that puts a smile on this little girls face."

So far Delaney is doing better than average, her mom Shannon Hayes said, every day is a good day.

"Very few children who have this cancer live 24 months past their diagnosis date," Hayes said.

At Blue Bell, Delaney and her sister Bailey, 7, and her brother Tyler, 2, were able to make their own ice cream flavor. Bailey's Surprise had sour gummy bears, chocolate ice cream and strawberry syrup.

Delaney's Surprise had green gummy bears, chocolate syrup, a cup full of sprinkles and a cup of M&M's for the topper.

"Green is my favorite color," Delaney said as she took out only the green gummy bears.

After they finished putting the ice cream in a container, they made Popsicle sticks that were dipped in chocolate sauce and rolled into more sprinkles.

"Yummy," Delaney said.

Delaney and her family went to the floor to see how the ice cream was made and packaged for shipment.

"Watching Delaney look at the conveyor belt was my favorite part of the whole tour," Hayes said. "She was probably thinking about how to make one of those at home."

You never know what is going through her mind, Hayes said.

"It is awesome to see her doing normal stuff as a normal kid," Hayes said.

At the end of the tour, everybody had some ice cream fresh from the Blue Bell production line.

"My favorite part was telling my (step)dad that I was done with the vanilla and chocolate ice cream, and I love the apron," Delaney said. "The part I didn't like was that cold place (cold storage)."

The family also paid a visit to state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst at her local office. Kolkhorst presented Delaney with a gavel and a Texas flag that flew over the state capitol building.

"You are the first person I gave a gavel to," Kolkhorst said. "Do you know what to do with it?"

Delaney hit the desk as hard as she could with the gavel.

"That is what I do in Austin, I hit the gavel and say ‘come to order,'" Kolkhorst said.

Kolkhorst recently sponsored a bill that would add more research dollars to child cancers.

"Delaney, you are the best part of my summer; I am going to pray for you, and I am going to get funding to find a cure for you," Kolkhorst said.

Donna and Tim Culliver founded Adam's Angels Ministry after their 4-year old son Adam died from a rare form of cancer in January 2003.

This article was originally run in the Brenham Banner-Press.

Brenham Banner Press
Published:
Monday, June 22, 2009 1:19 PM CDT

A Brenham couple is again serving as team leaders of a delegation from Texas pushing for cancer research funds.

Tim and Donna Culliver will be among those attending "Reach the Day" this week in Washington, D.C.

"Reach the Day" is expected to draw more than 400 families affected by childhood cancers. The rally is being held "to keep childhood cancer on the congressional front burner," said the Cullivers, whose son Andrew will also be making the trip.

The Cullivers son Adam died in 2003 at age 4 from a rare form of cancer. Since then, the family has been vocal advocates of additional funding for children's cancer research, annually making the trip to Washington, D.C. to lobby lawmakers.
Advances in childhood cancer have been dramatic - 40 years ago cure rates were less than 10 percent; today 78 percent overall are said to be cured.

In 2008, Congress unanimously passed a bill authorizing $150 million ($30 million each year) to expand pediatric cancer research, awareness and to create the national childhood cancer research registry. President Bush signed the bill on July 29, 2008.

But advocates are fearful that the current economic situation and growing federal deficit might threaten childhood cancer funding.

"On behalf of the families affected by childhood cancer, caregivers and providers, we applaud Congress for passing the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act," said Stacy Pagos Haller, executive director of the CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation. "But to make sure that every child is guaranteed a healthy, happy life, we must urge Congress to fully fund this bill."

"Reach the Day" is sponsored by CureSearch Reach. Activities include Capitol Hill visits to members of Congress, addresses from congressional leaders, and an outdoor rally -- all designed to keep the momentum going and to ensure the Federal funding of childhood cancer research.

Despite the progress in childhood cancer, about one in five children continues to die and cancer remains the number one leading cause of childhood death from disease.

The Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act 2008 authorized $150 million over a five-year period to expand support for biomedical research programs National Cancer Institute-designated multi-center national infrastructure for pediatric cancer research, establish a population-based national childhood cancer registry, enable researchers to more accurately study the incidence of childhood cancers and long-term effects of childhood cancer.

"Each day that pediatric cancer research goes under-funded, the road to discovering new treatments and cures become longer, and more children die," said Dr. Gregory Reaman, chairman of the Children's Oncology Group. "Only research cures childhood cancer. With proper funding levels - we can conquer childhood cancer."

Congress has formed the first Pediatric Cancer Caucus - members of Congress dedicated to conquering childhood cancer. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) will announce the creation of the caucus Tuesday during the "Reach the Day" rally. Sestak also will announce that Congress will proclaim Sept. 12 as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day.

"Each year, more than 12,500 children are diagnosed with cancer and more than 2,000 of these young lives are unnecessarily lost," said Sestak. "I retired from the U.S. Navy when my own daughter was diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor.

"As I lived in a pediatric oncology ward, I became particularly aware of the promise that cancer research could offer for so many in this country, by allowing more patients to survive and improving their quality of life.

"I am honored to chair the first Pediatric Cancer Caucus. The caucus will be fortunate to have CureSearch as a dedicated partner in fighting for the often voiceless victims of cancer of this horrible disease".

Tim and Donna Culliver of Brenham have returned from a working trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress and push for increased federal funding for medical research to cure childhood cancer.

The Cullivers are volunteer State Team Leaders for CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation, which supports the work of the Children's Oncology Group, the world's premier pediatric cancer research collaborative.

The Cullivers have been Texas State Leaders and advocates in the fight to appropriately fund pediatric cancer research since 2003, after their 4-year-old son Adam died of acute myelogenous leukemia four days after his diagnosis in January 2003.

While in Washington, the Cullivers met with District 10 Rep. Michael McCaul, whose district includes Washington County, in addition to 12 representatives from across Texas. They also learned more about the latest research findings and clinical trial successes, and met with other team leaders from across the country.

"It was very empowering to become part of our government in action," the Cullivers said in a statement. "It is important that everyone in the childhood cancer community stand face to face with our nation's leadership, and demands action for our children.

"Childhood cancer can affect anyone's children, and since the average age of diagnosis is age six, we are talking about adding 65 or more years of life for each child saved. This is truly worth fighting for."

Each year in Texas, approximately 1,100 children and adolescents younger than 20 years of age are diagnosed with cancer.

Approximately 200 children and adolescents die of cancer each year, making it the most common cause of disease-related mortality for Texas 0-19 years of age.

Last summer, both houses of Congress unanimously passed the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act, which authorized $150 million over the next five years to further research

"But an ‘authorization' is only a promise of funding, not funding money itself," said Culliver. "I, and other volunteers like me, went to Washington to make sure that this Congress and this administration keep the promise that they made to our children."

More than 12,500 American children are diagnosed with cancer each year.

The Cullivers noted that government funding for cancer research has remained flat for more than six years, and that "every day research is under-funding, the road to discovering treatments and cures becomes longer, and more children die. This is totally unacceptable."

The Children's Oncology Group includes more than 5,000 experts in childhood cancer research and treatment, who are located at more than 200 of the leading children's hospitals, university hospitals and cancer centers in the U.S. and Canada, including Children's Cancer Hospital of MD Anderson and Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and Dell Children's Hospital in Austin.

Combined, those hospitals treat more than 90 percent of all children who are diagnosed with cancer in the United States.

Once an almost always fatal disease, cure rates have risen from less than 10 percent in the 1950s, to almost 80 percent today.

"But 80 percent is not good enough. Cancer is still the number one cause of death from disease for our children. Anything less than 100 percent will never be good enough," said Tim Culliver. "The loss of even one more precious child is one too many."

Members of an on-campus organization at Brenham High School are doing what they can to help childhood cancer research.

The local chapter of FCCLA-Family, Career and Community Leaders of America-met recently with Tim and Donna Culliver, founders of Adam's Angels Ministry, to discuss the chapter's yearly community service project.

Upon hearing the mission of Adam's Angels Ministry, FCCLA members decided this was an organization they wanted to serve.

Upcoming plans include a coin war at Brenham Middle School and a night at Horseshoe Junction. All proceeds from both events will be donated to Adam's Angels Ministry.
Additional projects are being planned such as sending Valentines cards and Easter goodies to children fighting cancer.