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Canfield woman starts group to help kids in families facing illness
CANFIELD
Janelle Nagy, recently relocated here from Norwalk, is seeking volunteers and organizations to help her start a nonprofit Piggyback Foundation here like the one she served as a board member for in her former city.
The Piggyback Foundation’s mission is to provide a sense of normalcy for children in families experiencing serious illness, said Nagy, who wants to bring Piggyback services to her new community.
The foundation operates on the premise that when serious illness strikes a family, children can suffer unintended consequences. Grades drop, extracurricular activities go by the wayside, and family outings diminish, she said.
Services can include tutoring, enrollment in/continuation of sports and activities, special occasion celebrations and emergency relief funding.
Of the organization’s mission, Nagy said: “Lots of organizations exist to help the patient. But sports, school and birthday parties can get overlooked. We hope to serve the patient and their family by reminding them of life outside of sickness, even if just for a brief time.”
Nagy said she has filed the paperwork with the state to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and hopes to receive that designation in the near future.
In the meantime, she has applied for a competitive $5,000 grant through the National YMCA’s My Fresh Page Project.
Online votes are needed to make this dream a reality, Nagy said. Votes can be cast by searching “Piggyback Foundation of Youngstown” at http://mfpp.ymca.net. , she said.
The Piggyback Foundation, founded by Lisa Hiler in 2007, has grown from helping one family to an average of 18 adopted families a month. Since its inception, the foundation has aided more than 200 Norwalk families, giving $300,000 to the community. For information, visit www.thepiggybackfoundation.org.