May her memory be a blessing

“Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.”
Lao Tzu

Today is Giving Tuesday, a perfect day for us to remember Francesca aka “Beans,” the infant granddaughter of Advantage Partner Francine Smilen. Francesca passed away from a rare brain tumor at the age of just 9 months on Christmas Eve 2020.

At the time, her parents, Francine’s daughter Rachel Ensign and her husband Andy Kaczynski, both accomplished journalists, made an impassioned plea and established a fund for research to help prevent other children from suffering the same fate. Andy described their heart-rending journey in The Washington Post.

Together, they established the Team Beans Infant Brain Tumor Fund, which to date has raised more than $2.7 million. Our inbox had this update today from Team Beans:

“Today, we’re thrilled to announce that part of that dream – a central registry for kids with Francesca’s cancer – is being realized. Team Beans is contributing $225,000 to build a registry for children with the same cancer as Francesca. It’s a groundbreaking project and this grant — our biggest yet — is going to help get it off the ground.”

We asked Francine to comment:

“Two thoughts: In Judaism it is customary to say, ‘May her memory be a blessing.’ I never really understood what that meant until now. Every dollar contributed came from individuals like you who care: not one cent from corporations or the government. This is our individual power at work.

On this day, we hold in our hearts the memory of Francesca with love to you, Francine, from all of us at Advantage Performance Group, and we’d like to recognize the incredibly powerful individual acts of giving your family has inspired.

One great thing for 11.29.22 – Today is Giving Tuesday. Here’s a suggestion that’s close to our hearts:
Team Beans Infant Brain Tumor Fund