Hello everyone:
Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about how we got started and the work that we do on the road to finding a cure for cancer and helping affected families.
The name Go With Courage was first coined a few years after my breast cancer diagnosis in 2001. I had heard the expression for the first time immediately after I got sick, when a very close relative implored me to “go with courage” through what would be two years of harrowing treatments and surgeries. I hung up the phone, wrote those three words on a piece of pink construction paper, taped it to the refrigerator door, and did not touch it until my wig came off a year later. The name stuck…becoming a mantra of sorts and ultimately becoming the name of our charity.
Our first fundraising efforts were for The American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk” at Jones Beach on Long Island. Of course, we walked under the team name, Go With Courage. ACS does incredible work and we remain proud to support them. We continued fundraising to support wonderful national charities such as The Sass Foundation for Medical Research, The American Cancer Society and The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. I was honored by some these charities to thank me for our team’s successful fundraising efforts.
In 2007 my father was battling gall bladder cancer and I lost my beloved brother, Craig, to pancreatic cancer. My world and my goals changed forever. I knew that I had to do even more to help find a cure for cancer.
In 2011, Go With Courage, Inc. became a 501 (c )(3) not for profit charity for the purpose of eliminating the middle man, continuing to fund critical cancer research, and in an effort to help affected families. Together with my son, David, who co-founded the charity with me, and later with my son, Evan, along with the support of our family, we began raising money to fund specific, targeted cancer research at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Breast Cancer Research Fund, as well as continued to support The Lustgarten Foundation and The American Cancer Society through Relay for Life. With the help of family, local business donors and sponsors, friends and students, we hold numerous social events throughout the years which include: card/mah jongg parties, shopping events, casino nights, and participate in local charity events such as Champions for Charity at Americana Manhasset and Lord & Taylor “Shop Smart Do Good” Charity Days. We have the support of Roslyn High School students and many local sports teams, which enjoy wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October as they raise money for our cause. The kids earn community service credit for their volunteering. Outstanding Roslyn High School students earn nationally-recognized awards for their years of volunteer service in support of our mission.
Recognizing a gap in services for “well” children living in families affected by cancer, in 2015, we partnered with the Sid Jacobson JCC to open the We’ve Got Your Back children’s program. This long-awaited and critically important program was designed to support families while a parent or child is in cancer treatment by helping with meals, childcare, homework, tutoring, recreation, transportation and house care so “well” children of all ages can get the attention they need during this difficult time. If you can imagine the need, this program is aiming to meet it. We’ve Got Your Back is now being run from the same home office as Go With Courage, to remove overhead costs and to allow me to allocate funds to the many families in need.
Go With Courage is run from our home with virtually no overhead costs. There are no administrative or operating expenses above the actual cost of producing our events, many of which are subsidized in part by the generosity of the host venues and local printers. We try our very best to donate every single dollar directly to fund identifiable research and support families in need. We even target matching opportunities to allow our donations to be stretched beyond their face values. Our intentions are pure and are guided only by our goals.
The mission of Go With Courage is to find a cure for all cancers in our lifetime and to ease the burdens associated with cancer until that time by supporting affected families. We are so grateful for the assistance and the confidence our supporters have shown us over these critical first 10 years. We cannot reach our goal without them.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know us. Please check out the many ways that you can join us by volunteering, participating in our upcoming events, and/or by making a donation on our web site, gowithcourage.org.
I hope to meet you in person one day. Until that time, please remember that life can challenge us — and it almost always does. At these times, I implore you to be strong in the face of adversity and to try your best to…GO WITH COURAGE!!!
Warmest regards,
Robyn Jaslow
Founder/President
Go With Courage, Inc.*
*“Go With Courage, Inc.” is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit tax-exempt organization. Tax I.D. 31175 – NY State Tax Exempt Certificate # 262397.