National foundation helping children with cancer attend college to host beach party

NARRAGANSETT – The fifth annual National GRACE Foundation Beach Party sponsored by Beltone New England and Beltone Carolina/Virginia will take place Saturday, July 16, from 6-10 p.m. at the Narragansett Beach North Beach Clubhouse as a fundraiser to help children with cancer go to college.

The free beach party is open to the public and will include food, soft drinks, raffle prizes and a silent auction with proceeds benefiting the National GRACE Foundation, which provides free assistance and financial aid counseling to families of young people battling cancer in navigating the college admissions and financial aid process. Reservations are required and may be made by emailing agallonio@graceamerica.org.

The idea for the foundation was sparked in 2010 after East Greenwich couple Anthony Gallonio and Michelle La Riviere’s daughter, Grace, was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer at age 1. As Grace fought for her life, Gallonio and La Riviere’s lives were turned upside down. Every moment they had was dedicated to making sure Grace received the medical treatments she needed, according to a news release from the National Grace Foundation.
One night Gallonio arrived home and there was no power in his house. He realized he hadn’t paid the electric bill in months from being so focused on his daughter’s care. Having worked in college enrollment his whole career, he began to wonder how a parent or teen dealing with cancer could remember all the details when applying to college during such a trying time.
A year later in 2011, the National GRACE Foundation’s College Awareness Program was established with the goal of offering comprehensive services help pediatric cancer fighters go to college and make it financially feasible. In addition to counseling, the foundation advocates with college admission and financial aid offices to secure admission to colleges and additional financial aid, scholarships to pediatric cancer fighters, funds to hospitals to promote professional development for pediatric oncology nurses and college awareness programs at hospitals around the country.

According to the news release, the foundation has assisted more than 700 families across the country in the past five years and helped them secure more than $750,000 in additional scholarships after it advocated for them. In the 2015-16 admission season, the foundation has worked with more than 200 families affected by pediatric cancer from 37 states and three countries.

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It has awarded $40,000 in scholarships to cancers survivors in the past four years.

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