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VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE –As of May 20, 2023, The Shannon Mosher Memorial Foundation, Inc. (“Foundation”), established September 26, 2000, will no longer exist. Shannon died May 20, 2000 after her courageous battle, as chronicled in this website. This Website has been updated to reflect the change from an incorporated “Foundation” to a “Memorial” to Shannon and is designed to keep remembrance of her alive.

The website, shannonmoshermemorial.com, contains the uplifting story of how she faced a 15-month battle with leukemia, that included a bone marrow transplant, with great faith, courage, grace, humility, as well as her own special sense of humor, while dealing with the myriad of medical tests, procedures, setbacks and occasional bright moments.

Much of her story remains intact from the original website text on this website. It includes just a few of the many testimonials received from people who followed and were inspired by her story. It is hoped that Shannon’s story in this Memorial website will continue to be a blessing to many for years to come, especially for those who are facing a similar ordeal and their families who are looking for encouragement and inspiration.

Since the Foundation will no longer exist as of May 20, 2023, to the extent reasonably possible an effort has been made to delete many references to “Foundation” from all of the original website text.

NOTE: With that said, the figures shown on this updated Memorial website are carried over from the original website when the Foundation was in existence. Visitors to this website should just realize that any text, figures, and other information shown BEFORE May 20, 2023 are related to when the Foundation was in existence, and anything posted AFTER May 20, 2023 represents new material on this updated Memorial website. 

Patient Assistance

2/3/23

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Effective immediately, we will no longer process Applications for Patient Assistance. After over 21 years of providing various types of assistance to leukemia patients, such as financial grants and assistance with bone marrow donor drives, we find it necessary to proceed to “close up shop” which we plan will soon include filing Articles of Dissolution to cease all activities as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit Foundation. Age and health-related issues have helped us to reach this difficult decision.

2/3/23

Our plan would be to put IMPORTANT NOTICES on all Tab home pages that explain our reasons for this action, and  to clarify that all previous website pages and information referring to the Foundation activities that make up the great majority of the Website activity simply remain on the website purely from an "human interest" perspective as information to anyone interested in Shannon's journey of 15 months battling leukemia and the effects of a bone marrow transplant and to remain for a time simply as an on-going memorial to Shannon.. Except for satisfying any Foundation-related normal remaining financial obligations, we would then plan to distribute the remaining balance to some worthwhile like-minded organizations just prior to filing the aforementioned Articles of Dissolution

News & Links

 LINKS

Below are some links that will assist you in researching specific information related to topics such as leukemia, how to become a bone marrow donor, and how to make a contribution to The Shannon Mosher Memorial Foundation, Inc.:
 
1. The American Cancer Society website address is: www.cancer.org. Find useful information and statistics about leukemia and other cancers at this site.
 
2. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) website address is: www.marrow.org and phone number is 1.800.627.7672. Find useful information about how to become a bone marrow donor and other interesting topics at this site.
 
3. The Caitlin Raymond International Registry website address is: www.crir.org and phone number is 1.800.726.2824. Find useful information about how to become a bone marrow donor and other interesting topics at this site.
 
4. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society website address is: www.leukemia-lymphoma.org. Find useful information about the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

5. This leukemia resource page was located by a 4th grade student last year during a class project, and the Foundation is pleased to be able to finally post it as a link on our website since recently acquiring a new website package and getting it updated over the past few weeks:  http://health.yahoo.net/channel/leukemia.html.

 NEWS

November 15, 2006 -  Update 
After 5 years in Ocala, FL, Teresa and I relocated back to the Atlanta, GA area about a month ago. The key reasons driving the move were the arrival of our first grandchild this past January, Corban Tabeal Mosher (Tal), and to be closer to Teresa's mom and other family members in the area. Our son, Scott, and his wife, Christy, live in Forsyth County and Teresa's mother lives in the Covington, GA area. Teresa's dad died just a few days before Tal was born. We are having a house built in Northeast Gwinnett County, about halfway between Scott, Christy and Tal and Teresa's mom. We'll actually have an Auburn, GA address:  3589 Rock Elm Court, Auburn, GA  30011.
 
December 6, 2001 -  Update                                                        
Teresa and I relocated to Ocala, Florida from Atlanta in late October, and this message was sent to everyone in my email address book to update them on how we were adapting to "small town" America (compared with the mega metropolitan Atlanta area!) and on some specific Foundation activities: Greetings from Ocala! We’ve been very busy finalizing plans for our lot purchase and house construction. Saturday we took time out to enjoy the annual Christmas parade in downtown Ocala. We didn’t see a town pig in the parade (for those of you who saw the movie Doc Hollywood), but there were floats, local bands, beauty queens and even 8 of those huge Budweiser horses!! It was very nice, and I believe the paper projected close to 60,000 people would be there (the Florida Gators were getting Rocky Topped by Tennessee in Gainesville, about 30 miles away, or it might have been a larger gathering).
 
I wanted to give you a brief update on what we’ve been doing during our transition from Atlanta to Ocala with regard to The Shannon Mosher Memorial Foundation. Prior to our decision in June to relocate we had been involved with 5 bone marrow drives this year, the last one being the inaugural annual drive held in Shannon's memory on May 12. While we haven't been focused on other drives since then, we have been able to help several leukemia patients going through an ordeal similar to that experienced by Shannon and our extended family during 1999 - 2000.
 
As many of you know, the Foundation was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt entity for the expressed goals of increasing the number of bone marrow donors on the national registries; increasing leukemia and bone marrow transplant research; and, assisting other leukemia patients. I’d like to give you a more detailed update concerning the patient assistance aspect of our goals.
 
The primary way we try to assist leukemia patients is to make available limited financial aid grants to cover some of the on-going expenses many insurance plans don t cover. There is a wide range of expenses for which the Foundation can reimburse a patient for expenses they’ve incurred, such as prescription co-pays and parking, and/or we can pay directly a patient's premiums for cobra insurance or even pay a service provider for items such as the cleansing and sanitizing of the patient's home prior to the patient's return following a bone marrow transplant.

Because of our limited resources and desire to help as many patients as possible, we've established a guideline of providing up to $1,000 for an individual patient in any 12-month period. Since mid-June, our Foundation has received and approved 7 Grant Applications from patients being treated at the Bone Marrow Transplant Group of Georgia (BMT); another application is pending.
 
The first patient was approved 6/11/01, and we were able to send three reimbursement checks totaling $750 before, sadly, his death in late August. Of the $6,000 in grants approved for the other 6 patients since then, we’ve disbursed checks totaling $2,657 and presently have $2,383 in available funds to cover some of the subsequent expenses they incur. Of course, our sincere desire is to also be in position to provide financial assistance to many other patients in the months and years ahead.
 
The Financial Coordinator with BMT, Twylah Harper, sent me a very encouraging note last month, and I asked her if I could share part of it with you.  Twylah wrote: We get so many great comments about your Foundation that I want to say thank you again for all of the help you give patients. I have searched high and low for available programs and can't find them or they don't offer anything to the patient other than education information, hotlines for supportive care, etc. I am so glad for what you do. If you only offered $5.00, your program is still awesome!!
 
As you plan your year-end giving, we would ask you to prayerfully consider a gift to the Foundation. You can be assured that your gift will provide a tangible benefit to someone facing a very real need. Your tax-deductible gift can be sent to: The Shannon Mosher Memorial Foundation, 3210 SE 24th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471. Our phone number is (352) 867-1985, and our fax number is (352) 867-1934. With heartfelt wishes for a blessed holiday season.
 
Stuart 
 
January 25, 2001 -  Update
I wanted to share several things about the activities of The Shannon Mosher Memorial Foundation as we enter our initial full year as a leukemia/bone marrow transplant focused 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation. Last fall after incorporating and while obtaining the requisite tax-exempt approval letter from the Internal Revenue Service, we began developing a strategy that would help fulfill the Foundation’s primary mission. While our Regular Board of Directors was in place, we felt it would be important to develop an Advisory Board of Directors who would lend some tangible support to our efforts, as well as add some credibility to the Foundation’s mission. In this regard, we have an interest in attracting a few high-profile individuals, including sports figures, community and business leaders and others.  I believe the examples below are good indicators that God is leading us through the infancy stage of our Foundation, and that He is being faithful to our efforts to make a difference in the lives of leukemia patients and those needing a bone marrow transplant.
 
Providence 1: In late October I was contacted by Darren Weiner, who heard about our Foundation through the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where Shannon was seen while in Boston.  Darren was also an acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patient, having his bone marrow transplant the day before Shannon’s last March at the same Boston hospital. He obviously survived the ordeal and was beginning to focus on his new mission in life, while preparing to go home to Florida in a few weeks. Darren has been an NBA sports agent for about 10 years, and was driven from the day he was diagnosed to make the most of his situation (sounds a lot like Shannon’s attitude).
 
While this might not be Darren’s official mission statement, he shared in his first email to me that his vision included “calling upon my 10+ years of experience and contacts in representing professional athletes, in order to raise awareness for the need of bone marrow donors, and to organize donor drives around North America to save others’ lives.”  That certainly encompasses a primary focus of our Foundation, so working together seemed a natural fit. Darren agreed to serve on our Advisory Board, and he has already made some significant progress in generating interest from several NBA teams.  It’s the intent of the Foundation to assist Darren with as many bone marrow drives as possible, and to hopefully develop a long-range strategy that would include conducting drives in several cities each year. We hope to have an initial drive in Atlanta in early April. More on these exciting possibilities later.  
 
Providence 2: On January 9, Teresa and I stepped out of our comfort zone to attend a leukemia support group meeting led by Terri Sexton, who works for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Atlanta. There were a dozen or more patients there, some of whom had already received a bone marrow transplant, and we had an opportunity to share about the Foundation. We let everyone know one of our primary objectives is to help leukemia patients in any way possible, including providing some limited financial aid and helping to sponsor bone marrow drives on their behalf.
 
On January 16, I received a call from a lady who had simply called the Leukemia Society seeking resources for financial aid related to a bone marrow drive her church was having for one of its members, George Miller; she happened to get Terri Sexton on the line who remembered our Foundation and referred her to me.  During our conversation, I told her  the Foundation would be able to provide a small financial gift toward the costs of the tissue typing that had to be raised by the patient’s support group and others.  I also shared some specifics about what it took at the drive we had for Shannon last February in terms of adequate volunteer support staff and processing the collection of fees paid by the bone marrow donors.
 
Their drive was a combination blood/bone marrow drive (known as a “piggyback” drive), and it was being put together very quickly. Since no one at the church was familiar with the bone marrow drive feature, it was a great opportunity for Teresa and me to get involved. So, this past Monday we had the privilege of representing the Foundation at the drive and handling the fee collection process. In addition to the medical staff and other volunteers, four of our friends also volunteered to help at the drive.  It was a huge success, with 485 new donors processed to get added to the national bone marrow registry. In addition, 476 units of blood were taken. George and his wife, Laura, are planning another drive (bone marrow only) in early March, and our plans are be a part of that one as well.
 
Providence 3: While preparing to incorporate the Foundation last year, the first person to agree to serve on our Regular Board suggested I contact the oncologist who had treated her husband during a long battle with colon cancer. I found out he had recently joined a practice specializing in his passion - leukemia and bone marrow transplants.  When we spoke about the Foundation and its mission, he was very excited and agreed immediately to serve on our Regular Board.
 
Teresa and I met with him and two other doctors in his office (Blood & Marrow Transplant Group of Georgia) last week to discuss the Foundation’s vision and focus on assisting other leukemia patients, increasing the number of donors on the national registries and increasing research funding. It was also interesting to learn that George Miller is a patient there. That same day we met a representative from the bone marrow transplant area of Northside Hospital who, also coincidentally, was helping to coordinate the bone marrow drive for George Miller. It became apparent from our visit at the doctor’s office that there are numerous leukemia patients and families who (like what Shannon and our family experienced) could benefit immediately from some limited financial aid for expenses not covered by insurance or other sources. As we are able to develop some funding sources, grants and, perhaps later, an endowment fund, it is our sincere desire to be able to provide this type assistance that can help reduce the overwhelming stress and burden that these patients face as they battle this disease.
 
Please pray for us as we continue our efforts to honor Shannon by fulfilling the mission of the Foundation that she so much had hoped to be a part of upon her return to Atlanta from Boston. Also, please pray for George Miller and his family as they face the uncertainties involved in waiting for the best possible bone marrow match that would give him the greatest opportunity for a successful transplant and an extended life. 
 
Let’s do some good!!
Stuart Mosher