ConKerr Cancer helps give smiles to sick children
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
LAMBERTVILLE — A children’s hospital’s main job is to get children back to health, often from serious illnesses and diseases.
Over the years, they have tried to become “child-friendly,” installing aquariums and brightly colored fish to relax the frightened viewer and putting in playrooms stocked with a variety of toys and video games.
Despite the toys and the fish, a children’s hospital still means serious business. Often, it means fear, for children as well as their parents.
Cindy Kerr, of Wayne, Pa., saw this firsthand when her son, Ryan, 12, was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer, osteosarcoma, in 2002. She began to sew him pillowcases to brighten his hospital room and bring a smile to his face. The pillowcases were a hit with Ryan, and Ms. Kerr started to sew more of them for other pediatric patients at CHOP, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Although Ryan lost his battle with cancer last year, Ms. Kerr continued to make the pillowcases for young patients, bringing them “a case for smiles.”
What began as an effort for her own son has led to the creation of ConKerr Cancer, an organization that has distributed 59,000 pillowcases to children in more than 80 hospitals and pediatric hospices across the United States, Canada and South Africa.
In 2008, L’Oreal honored Ms. Kerr by naming her a Woman of Worth.
According to L’Oreal, “ConKerr Cancer is a testament to the power of a simple idea, individual volunteers and partner organizations and the reach of the Internet. It serves dozens of communities through a network of volunteer coordinators who manage their chapters recruiting volunteers, raising funds and delivering pillowcases. The organization is totally Web-driven, leveraging the speed and power of the Internet to reach thousands of volunteers and, most importantly, to give smiles to sick kids.”
Sew-ins have been held around the country. Jan. 31 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Ms. Kerr will be in Lambertville for the first sew-in at a retail establishment, the children’s boutique, Tickles & Toes, on Coryell Street. The event will start will a brief sewing lesson for those who are unfamiliar with sewing machines.
According to Tickles & Toes, the sew-in “helps expand the reach of ConKerr Cancer’s message and contributes toward its goal of giving a bright and cheery pillowcase to every seriously ill child in North America by 2012. The spirit and focus of ConKerr Cancer is consistent with Tickles & Toes’ four-pillar business philosophy: Children first, charity involvement, a community connection and a strong desire to meet the needs of clients.”
Tickles & Toes event organizer Beth Zarret said, “We want to contribute to a charity that is consistent with our beliefs that children are our gift.”
Monetary contributions also will be accepted.
To participate or contribute, phone Tickles & Toes at 397-1941.

