1994 Kristen Ann Carr Fund Holiday Letter
Dear Friends,
It has been almost two years since we lost Kristen, which seems like something that happened yesterday and at the same time, a story from another place and time. As her family, we now know that you don’t “recover” from such a death, nor do you “get used to it.” Sadly, you do learn to live with it, and you live with it better if you possess the ability and resources to fight back against the enemy that took her away.
Actually, we’ve been so engulfed in what’s been happening with The Kristen Ann Carr Fund that we’ve neglected to fill in our supporters, friends and loved ones on the Fund’s activities, growth, and goals. It’s also a welcome opportunity for taking stock ourselves. Finally, it gives us another chance to thank all of you for your tremendous support.
The June 26, 1993, Bruce Springsteen concert at Madison Square Garden in Kristen’s honor at Madison Square Garden gave this Fund its true kickoff. As Bruce noted from the stage that evening, we proposed to create a fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for the study of sarcoma. The concert proved so successful that we’ve been able to do even more. We now have Dr. John Lewis, an outstanding cancer researcher, as the first Kristen Ann Carr Fellow, doing full-time sarcoma research under the direction of Dr. Murray Brennan, Chairman of MSKCC’s Department of Surgery. We also have Dr. Jeremy Lundberg, who has established and is overseeing a long-needed sarcoma patients’ support group. This means that Kristen’s Fund now battles sarcoma not only on a physical level but on psychological and emotional ones as well. For all patients, the latter can be as devastating as the former, and for those who lack Kristen’s enormous network of family, friends and neighbors, such a support group has long been a crying need.
The Fund now provides a variety of other psychosocial services to patients at Memorial (which is the largest cancer center in the United States). Last December, with the steadfast support of our friends at the Hard Rock Cafe, we put on what has now become an annual Christmas party for outpatients. A variety of performers played brief acoustic sets, Joan Jett spent several hours talking with kids and signing autographs, and Dave donned the famous Dunning Family Santa suit. He wore it again to distribute gifts at our Christmas party for pediatric in-patients and day patients — a group that includes everybody from infancy to young adulthood who has to be in the hospital at the worst time of the year.
Our friend, Wynton Marsalis, also joined us last December to help bring the spirit of the holidays to Memorial’s patients. Wynton shared his love of music in many ways, playing a special Christmas party as part of the in-patient festivities, roaming the halls of the pediatric ward with a small troupe who played Christmas carols, then playing more formally for adult patients. Earlier in the year, Wynton also played a special afternoon gig for all patients, which was received with great enthusiasm (he even let one patient sit in)! But this year’s celebrity topper certainly was Tom Hanks’s visit to the pediatrics ward just a couple of weeks after he’d won the Oscar for Philadelphia. Tom spent more than three hours meeting with sick kids (and AIDS patients), having his photo taken, and generally extending himself in the most beautifully personal manner imaginable.
The Fund also now engages in health education activities. One of the most important of these occurred last May. The Women’s Health Education Luncheon held at Sony Music Corporation, featured speakers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering. That event raised money and gave many women in the entertainment industry much needed information on issues surrounding breast cancer. The Fund plans to participate in more such luncheons.
Last spring, the Fund presented a talk for medical and psychiatric caregivers at Memorial and the city’s other hospitals by Elena Dorfman, a sarcoma survivor who wrote and photographed teenage cancer patients for her book The C Word. As opportunities arise, we’ll host more such conferences.
In April 1993, Pete Townshend made us a recipient of proceeds from the first Broadway performance of Tommy. That got our fundraising off to a great start even before the Bruce concert. Last June, Barbra Streisand generously donated tickets to opening night of her Madison Square Garden run, and Don Henley honored us by making a donation from the Eagles concerts at the Meadowlands. We’re proud that so many artists have joined our efforts, but we’re even more thrilled with the dedication and hard work of Kristen’s peers and friends who have initiated some of our most significant work. People under 25, led by Ilyse Gordon, Kristen’s roommate and close friend, did almost all the work in putting on last year’s first Winter Semi-Formal. (Details of the second Winter Semi-Formal will be announced in a few weeks.) Last April, a group of young people led by Michael Solomon, Kristen’s fiancé, arranged a benefit performance of the off-Broadway play Fallen Angel, starring Living Colour’s Corey Glover. These events raised $70,000. Meanwhile, Sasha, who played a key role in both those events, carries forward the spirit of the Fund by working as a volunteer in the Teen Room in Memorial’s pediatric ward. She will lead the Fund’s effort to remodel and modernize it, with assistance from friends at MTV and The Hard Rock.
All this means that The Kristen Ann Carr Fund has grown more quickly than anyone could have expected. One important result is that beginning in 1995, we will separate from the T.J. Martell Foundation, who sheltered us for our first two years, and become a free-standing Foundation. As part of this change, we’ve also begun a direct relationship with Memorial Sloan-Kettering, where our efforts remain concentrated.
The Fund has found so many friends that it’s impossible to thank all of them individually. We must note especially the efforts of Arthur Indursky, our best counselor in all respects, without whom our growth could not have been accomplished. Ilyse Gordon, Michael Solomon, Jon Landau, and several people at Memorial, including Dr. Brennan and Dr. Richard O’Reilly, Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. In Memorial’s department of development, we have received loving daily support from Julia McCormack and expert guidance from Mortimer Chute, the senior vice-president of development.
Most importantly, we have not forgotten that each and every one of our contributors also plays a crucial role in this great battle. We hope that our efforts in 1993 and 1994 continue to earn your support for our continuing determination in 1995 and beyond. More than that, we hope that in some way, you feel they live up to the great spirit Kristen exhibited during her life.
Love,
Barbara Carr, Dave Marsh, and Sasha Carr