Providence Plastic Surgery & Skin Center is giving back to the Charlotte pediatric cancer community! During this limited time offer, February 16-23, you can purchase up to 250 units of Botox at $10 per unit with $5 per unit benefiting the Isabella Santos Foundation. An easy way to make an impact and raise funds for rare pediatric cancer right here in Charlotte.
Botox Charity Event with Providence Plastic Surgery & Skin Center, February 16-23
We have a lot going on at ISF and one of our 2019 goals is to better communicate to our donors and supporters. But everyone’s busy, so we want to make it easy and quick for you to catch up! We are excited to bring you our new monthly newsletter, ISF SKINNY MINUTE, to help keep you updated on all things happening in and around the foundation.
Each month we will give you the skinny on what you missed, what to watch for in the coming months and how you can help. A couple highlights from this month’s ISF SKINNY:
Executive Director Dish: Erin Santos shares what ISF is focusing on this year, changes to the foundation and why she couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.
Missed It: We saw lots of great things happen in the 4th quarter of 2018. Catch up on all of them, like the first patient who was successfully treated in the new MIBG room, ISF featured in the Charlotte Observer’s Unsung Heroes series and Erin among the 2019 honorees in Charlotte Business Journal’s Women in Business Achievement.
Watch For It: 2019 ISF Events and Partner Events
Share It: Valentine’s week is here and we want to spread love to cancer patients everywhere! Help us by pulling out your Cancer Messed With gear and post a photo in your shirt or hat, tag our social channels with #cancermessedwith when you do.
Executive Director Update, February 2019, Written by Erin Santos
I can’t believe we are hitting mid-February!For us here at ISF, January hits us like a ton of bricks.We had such a busy 4th quarter with the MIBG opening and trying to squeeze every last donation into our 2018 year, by the time December 18th hit – I told the girls to enjoy the holidays.I mean check in… but catch up on your lives because January would be no joke.Luckily the gears keep moving and we saw lots of great things come in at the end of the year with PR including being featured as a Charlotte Unsung Hero, our first family in the MIBG room and our total amount raised beating last year by 30%.
But, that is all behind us now.January hit us hard.We decided to change up pretty much everything we did from how we run our meetings, where we run our meetings, how we organize work, how we capture donors and even our website will be turned upside down.All things that needed to happen to go back to our idea we discuss all the time about working smarter not harder.My team is more organized and stronger than it has ever been.Need I say, we actually work like a real grown up charity these days.I love it.
We also took a moment to think about what was important to the Foundation.For us, our goal this year is to continue to spread our brand awareness in the Charlotte community and really diversify our revenue stream.Who doesn’t know about ISF?Apparently, a lot of people – and we are going to change that.You know those businesses that you just happen to see everywhere you go like Atrium Health or OrthoCarolina.Yeah, that’s going to be us. Have you seen my involvement with the Charlotte Ballet’s Dancing with the Stars Program?That’s just not about me wanting to get in shape.The reason we are doing it is to gain awareness in the community.All those people sitting in the audience who support the arts and have never heard of ISF.Not anymore.Let’s just say that once the night is over, they are definitely going to know who we are.I may just kill myself in the process. Click here to support me.
Diversifying our revenue streams… what do I mean here?Man are we event heavy.And do you know what is expensive?Events.There are so many ways for funds to come into a charity such as grants, beneficiary events, 3 wish circle members and more peer to peer fundraising.I’m sure you think, oh man… there is ISF asking me to raise money for them again.But do you know why we ask?Because it is the most efficient way for us to achieve our goals.Studies have shown that people will give to charities because their friends give to that charity.So if someone knows you think we are pretty cool… they may start to think we are pretty cool too.Pretty simple.Oh and just as an example of our beneficiary events… have you heard about the Jersey Mike’s Give Back Day coming up in March?Yeah?Try $130,000 in one day.We love ourselves some Jersey Mikes and we are now their biggest sub eaters.
Events.Of course we know we put on killer events.(Brushing my shoulders off here… yes, Rachel our Marketing Director is rolling her eyes and cringing at my use of words and arrogance right now)However, events need to stay fresh.So that’s why we are constantly thinking of new ways to bring you our signature event to you such as our Coffee for a Cure, the 5k and 10k and don’t forget our Gala this year that is going to be INSANE!Don’t worry, the same ole’ ISF feel will be there – but you know we gotta turn it up a notch, or two.
Another big focus of ours is expanding our community support.Businesses have always been so great to us as an organization.Our latest addition, Kerry Winslow, is taking on Corporate Philanthropy while Karen Murphy has stepped into Sponsorships and Partnerships. They have a big year ahead of them on communicating to the Charlotte business on why they should support us.While we have great events, the mission and what we are doing with building this Rare and Solid Tumor Program at Levine over the next 5 years is something unheard of in pediatric cancer in the US.And we are bringing it here to Charlotte… can you think of something cooler to put your business name on?I can’t.
Speaking of business.Have you met our board?Because we basically have the coolest board in town. It’s going to double in the next couple of months with some of the brightest and best people in Charlotte stepping on.With this group behind us, we can accomplish anything. Thank you to the following who have stepped on and looking forward to the others who will be joining us in the coming months:
Sandra Szoke, Impact Marketing
Blair Primis, OrthoCarolina
Suzie Ford, NoDa Brewing
Matt Yarmey, Pure Intentions
Dr. Jennifer Pope, Levine Children’s Hospital
Tim Miner, Charlotte is Creative
Becky Berolatti, New Dominion Bank
Jennifer Ross, Accounting Consultant
Our last “little” project coming at you in 2019 is Cancer Messed With.We love this brand and all the things we are doing with it.These soft vintage shirts are hitting the streets of Charlotte and nationwide and we love seeing people in them.Sadly, everyone is affected by cancer and we want to show cancer it messed with the wrong person, family, mother, guy, kid… whoever.We are stronger than cancer.We want you all to get one for someone you love, have your business come together to show a co-worker who is battling that you are behind them… whatever the case may be.We find that we feel just a little stronger when we have our CMW on, and you will too.
Sure, this ED update may be a little arrogant, but you know what?I’m EXCITED!I find that I’m working harder than ever and I’m loving my job and the people I have around me.Every single day this is about Isabella and that will never change for me.But I don’t expect it to always be about her for you.My hope is that you will want to be involved with what we are doing because it makes you really feel like you are doing something is REALLY making a difference.That’s what we are doing here, I hope you can see it and I hope you want join us.
Looking forward to updating you each and every month on what we are doing here at ISF.I can’t wait to share.
Love, Erin (Isabella’s Mommy oh yeah… and Executive Director)
Valentine’s Day is coming up and we want to spread love to cancer patients everywhere! Help us by grabbing your Cancer Messed With gear and post a photo in your shirt or hat, tag our social channels with #cancermessedwith when you do.❣️
Levine Children’s has a new way to treat rare cancers. In December, they opened the Isabella Santos Foundation MIBG Therapy Suite at Levine Children’s Hospital – one of only a handful in the United States.
Alexandra (center) is the first patient to receive MIBG treatment in the new The Isabella Santos Foundation MIBG therapy suite at Levine Children’s Hospital. She has neuroblastoma and has relapsed 10 times. Alexandra’s first treatment went well, and she thought it was “so cool” to be the first patient, making history and paving the way for others.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jan. 22, 2019 – This past year, the Isabella Santos Foundation (ISF) continued to make great strides in the local and national pediatric cancer community.
The most significant development was the creation of a leading-edge rare pediatric cancer treatment room at Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital. This is one of the leading MIBG Therapy Suites in the nation and is slated to change the landscape of local cancer care. ISF completed its $1 million commitment to build the treatment room which will be used to treat children with neuroblastoma and in advanced clinical trials to test new products on different types of cancers. Construction began mid-2018 and was completed in eight months. The first patient was successfully treated there in December. More information is available at http://bit.ly/MIBGTherapy.
Among the $672,000 that the Isabella Santos Foundation donated to their mission of fighting pediatric cancer, $600,000 was given to Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital and $30,000 went to The Genomics Department at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to help fund the Neuroblastoma Killer Cell Trial. Additional funds were supplied to local Charlotte organizations that support kids and families fighting pediatric cancer.
Another significant mark ISF made, was partnering with Community Blood Center of the Carolinas to open CBCC’s first blood center in South Charlotte. Named in Isabella’s honor, the Isabella Santos Center is a state-of-the art blood center located in Ballantyne.
In addition, Erin Santos, executive director of and president of ISF, was named the Housing Opportunity Foundation’s “2018 Humanitarian of the Year” and was recognized among The Charlotte Observer’s editorial board among those who “made Charlotte better in 2018.”
This year, ISF is committed to raising $5 million to fund the ISF Rare and Solid Tumor Program at Levine Children’s Hospital. This breakthrough program is designed to research and treat a wide range of deadly pediatric cancers, and will allow the hospital to expand their clinical trials and recruit a national expert in rare and solid tumors.
“We are extremely proud of our results and the impact we made on the pediatric cancer community in 2018,” said Santos. “We are very grateful for our tremendous base of volunteers, supporters, partners and staff for helping us achieve these incredible accomplishments and improve the lives of countless childhood cancer patients.”
About Isabella Santos Foundation
The Isabella Santos Foundation (ISF) is a 501(c)3 childhood cancer foundation dedicated to raising funds for research for rare pediatric cancers, and charities that directly impact the lives of children with cancer. ISF was founded in honor of Isabella Santos from Charlotte, N.C. who lost her battle against neuroblastoma. ISF is committed to improving rare pediatric cancer treatment options in an effort to increase the survival rate of kids with cancer so they can live their dreams. ISF has donated over $3 million to date to expand the scope of pediatric cancer research and treatment, and to fill various needs surrounding childhood cancers.
We have a lot going on at ISF and one of our 2019 goals is to better communicate to our donors and supporters. But everyone’s busy, so we want to make it easy and quick for you to catch up! We are excited to bring you our new monthly newsletter,
I can’t believe we are hitting mid-February!
Levine Children’s has a new way to treat rare cancers. In December, they opened the Isabella Santos Foundation MIBG Therapy Suite at 
