Helping Our 100th Family
Giving Tuesday: Tony Foundation helps 100th family in cancer fight
Central Texas nonprofit provides emergency financial assistance to qualified cancer patients
Georgetown, Texas—Kelsey Adamek, a kindergarten teacher and single mom to a 5-year-old daughter, was wondering how she would pay rent and bills while taking chemo treatments for lymphoma – with side effects that have often caused her to miss work.
“Financially, we’re just trying to get by. The medical bills are starting to pile up, and I know there are a lot more to come,” Adamek said. “I’m just trying to keep things normal for my kid.”
Today, on Giving Tuesday, Tony Foundation presented Adamek with a check for financial assistance in the amount of $5,000. And she isn’t the first cancer patient Tony Foundation has helped – in fact, she’s number 100, coming three years after the Austin-based nonprofit gave its first check to a family in 2019.
The milestone marks $500,000 the foundation has provided to cancer fighters since then.
Tony Foundation was founded by Tony Laudadio, who was first treated for kidney cancer at age 29; and then, two years later, underwent brain surgery and treatment for a second, completely unrelated cancer. The illness and treatments effectively ended his successful career in sales, causing significant financial stress on his family. Laudadio soon realized he wanted to help others facing a similar predicament and the financial pressures he endured.
He established Tony Foundation in 2018 to provide critical financial assistance to families affected by cancer, especially those whose primary income earners, in their most productive years, are unable to continue employment.
“Cancer turned my family’s world upside down,” said Laudadio, a father of three. “I was young, in the prime of my professional career. We had a baby on the way when I had surgery for my first cancer, and another on the way two years later, when I had my second surgery. I was unable to work during this time, which is very common for those who are dealing with cancer.”
To fulfill its mission, Tony Foundation has continually raised money to provide approved recipients with $5,000 checks for assistance.
“Even during the pandemic, we haven’t missed a beat, and we’ve made sure we can continue assisting families,” Laudadio said. “I have so much gratitude for our supporters – corporate partners and individual donors – for helping us continue to grow during a difficult time.”
“As bad as the pandemic has been for everyone, it’s even worse for those being diagnosed and treated for cancer,” Laudadio added.
Tony Foundation is supported entirely through private donations and receives no public funding. Assisting families is made possible through personal and corporate donations, fundraisers, support from corporate partners and grants.
Tony Foundation is a 501c3. In 2022, Tony Foundation received the highest seal of transparency from Guidestar.org (Candid), an organization that vets all nonprofits. Tax ID# 82-4077026. For more information, visit www.TonyFoundation.org.