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Ironman for Anna
F U N D R A I S I N G C A M PA I G N H E L P S
C H I L D R E N B AT T L I N G C A N C E R
By Andrea Nagel
After losing
their 7-year-old daughter to liver cancer in 2011, Joe
and Polly Schindler started the Anna Schindler Foundation to help
support families with children battling cancer. The foundation helps
families with the costs associated with travel,
emergency expenditures, housing and funeral
costs.
“I can’t even imagine
facing a diagnosis like
that,” said Tom deTar,
M.D., from St. Joseph’s
Ear, Nose & Throat
Clinic, a Schindler
family friend. “I felt
helpless while Anna
was going through
treatment because I wasn’t directly
involved in her care. But she was re-
markable and heroic—her story really
touched me.”
G A T H E R I N G M O M E N T U M
Dr. deTar wanted to contribute to the
foundation and help other children in
a situation like Anna’s. He decided to
start Ironman for Anna to raise funds.
“I thought if I did Ironman to raise money for the kids, I would ac-
complish two goals,” he said.
He started his goal amount at $5,000, thinking even that would be a
challenge to achieve. However, he quickly surpassed that amount and
with the help of individual donations, he raised nearly $27,000 by the
time race day rolled around. Over 95 percent of all funds raised by the
foundation go directly to cancer patients and their families.
Dr. deTar wants to keep the momentum going and has recruited
12 athletes to compete in honor of Anna at this year’s Ironman. The
athletes range from an 18-year-old first-time racer to veteran Ironmen
and women, including one of Anna’s former nurses.
“My goal is to bring more awareness to the program,” he said. “I hope
all the athletes are successful in both fundraising and in completing the
race. I would have never done Ironman for myself, but I would do it for
Anna and for other kids like her.”
Athletes can compete as an Ironman for Anna in any Ironman event
around the world. Learn more or donate to the Anna Schindler Founda-
tion and Ironman for Anna by visiting
annaschindlerfoundation.org
.
KH . ORG
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he has been recruiting sponsors to
help it grow. The “sewing machine
project,” as Todd called it, trains
30 individuals (mostly mothers)
over the course of nine months to
become seamstresses. At the end of
the program, 10 of the participants
get to keep the pedal-powered
machines so they can build a career
and support their families. Todd
is trying to raise enough money so
every participant in the next class
will get to keep a sewing machine.
“For just $150 we can give
someone a future—and their family
a future,” Todd said. “It’s great
to see people in our community
getting involved. It’s so easy to
get lost in our own day-to-day and
forget how lucky we are.”
G E T I N V O L V E D !
Learn how you can help
Asante Ministries by visit-
ing
asanteministries.org
. To contact
Todd directly about his experiences,
email him at
tputren@kh.org
.
Tom deTar, M.D.
Photos by Kim Putren