Bringing Creativity to the Bedside

Last year, Becky and Curtis Long established the Long Family Endowment for Pediatric Oncology Care. But their story, and their connection to Children’s Mercy, started long ago.

Turning cancer into crafts

In 2010, Becky Long received news that nobody wants to hear – she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The process of consulting with her doctors, waiting for test results, and determining the best course of treatment was difficult for her and her family. Throughout it all, one thought stuck with Becky: “What if this was my kids?”

Not one to sit still, even through the toughest times, Becky turned her attention to what she could do to support families who were searching for answers and treatments when they are facing a pediatric cancer diagnosis.

“We can’t change a diagnosis, but we can have a positive influence on the journey,” Becky said.

Becky reached out to the Volunteer and In-kind Giving office at Children’s Mercy and after some conversations with that team, an idea was born. Becky, along with daughter Moorea and son Cayman, started making craft-o-grams.

Since 2012, the Long family has assembled thousands of craft-o-grams, handmade kits that patients can work on from their hospital beds, each with a unique craft or activity handmade by the Long family.

Every time she walks into the hospital, Becky is filled with hope.

“I’ve never encountered a patient family at Children’s Mercy who didn’t take my breath away,” she said, full of emotion. “I believe that to create hope, you have to give it away.”

We know we have been blessed. We want to pass that along to families who need support.

Encouraging others to give

Because of this overwhelming feeling of hope that Children’s Mercy brings the Longs, they have included Children’s Mercy in their estate plan.

“We give because we stand in awe of the work Children’s Mercy does,” Becky said.

Curtis, who is a financial advisor, recognizes the importance of endowed gifts that continue to fund projects and initiatives far into the future.

Curtis hopes their gift will encourage other families and organizations who have the capacity to establish endowments at Children’s Mercy to do so. He encourages people to consider different kinds of gifts and reminds people that a huge sum is not necessary to begin a gift.

“We know we have been blessed,” Curtis said. “We want to pass that along to families who need support.”

To learn more about including Children’s Mercy in your will and estate, contact the Philanthropy Gift Planning team at giftplanning@cmh.edu.