Szott Foundation

12/01/2020

Dear friends and family of the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation!

I hope this post finds you well, and you are staying healthy during these trying times. David and I have both stayed well, carefully following the recommendations to help prevent the spread of COVID 19.

I write to you with mixed feelings. While David and I are eternally grateful to you and glad of our accomplishment, we also realize that the time has come to close the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation. As you can imagine, there are a range of economic and personal reasons for this very bittersweet decision.

We have, accordingly, begun the dissolution process required by the state of Minnesota. At our final meeting on October 12, the Board approved the decision and the process. We hope to finalize it by the end of our fiscal year, December 31, 2020. We recently distributed our last Gifts of Time.

Thank you all—each and every one—for your commitment to the success of the Szott Foundation for the last 14 years. I am very proud of our accomplishments! We, all of us together, have given the Gift of Time to 60 families in grants totaling about $700,000. Sixty families were able to stay home to care for a child with cancer, free of the added financial hardship of this devastating illness. We were unable to mend broken hearts, but we were able to alleviate financial burdens.

Thank you for making such a huge difference in so many lives. Every $100 you gave provided a parent the gift of a day with an ill child. There is not a greater gift!

The Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation will always hold a very dear place in our hearts for our donors, our volunteers, our mentors, and our board members who made the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation possible. David and I were able to turn our devastating losses into something grand. We are forever grateful to you.

May you be blessed with peace, and health this holiday season, and may 2021 be a year of recovery and hope.

Warmest wishes,
Kathryn Szott, Executive Director

11/23/2018

What the Gift of Time meant to one of our recipients:
It is difficult to put into words just how much the Gift of Time we received meant to our family. Our daughter was diagnosed with medulloblastoma brain cancer and was not expected to live much longer when we heard about the Szott Foundation. During her illness I used all my FMLA leave to take care of her and when that ran out I was let go from my job. Without that second income we were on the verge of bankruptcy and looking at losing our home.

The Gift of Time made it possible for us to make our house payments and pay our utility bills as well to be home to care for our daughter and our other two children. Because of the Gift of Time, I was not forced to immediately find another job, so I was able to give our daughter the best care possible and to be there with her when she needed me most.

The Gift of Time, most of all, gave us the “gift of time” to be with our daughter before she passed. I often say that I am so glad that I never have to say, “I wish I had done this or I wish I had been able to do that for her. The Gift of Time allowed me to do everything I could possibly do for her.

I can’t thank the Szott Foundation enough for allowing me to be with my daughter. Life is hectic, and life is busy. Our jobs are demanding and not always flexible with chemo schedules and Dr. appointments. The Gift of Time took a huge financial burden off our shoulders and allowed us slow down, be there and focus on what was most important.

Thank you so much

07/14/2018

Our grants committee has made decisions on our next Gifts of Time. We received 7 applications, a record number! We awarded 4 of those families. Our 36th Gift of Time was awarded to the family of Elizabeth, age 4, diagnosed with B-Cell All, in the amount of $22,400. Our 37th GOT went to the family of Emma, age 2, diagnosed with neuroblastoma on 12/13/17, in the amount of $16,000. Jacob, age 16, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on 1/12/18. We awarded his family our 38th GOT in the amount of $8,000. Finally, our 39th GOT went to Logan’s family. Logan is 16 years old and was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma originally on 10/4/17, but had a recurrence on 3/24/18. We awarded his family a gift of $14,000. Every story is different and every family's situation is unique. We prayerfully consider each family as we make our decisions.

As we learn more about each family I will post it. Thank you for your interest and support of our very unique foundation. The Szott Foundation has awarded more than $550,000 to families whose children are being treated for cancer in the Twin Cities and Rochester.

06/14/2018

Allison Beehner is riding in the Great Cycle Challenge this June to fight kids' cancer! Please sponsor Allison and show your support to help these kids beat this terrible disease. CLICK to view Allison's fundraising page!

03/11/2018

In December 2017, the Szott Foundation was able to award 4 Gifts of Time, totaling $57,000. Our 32nd Gift of Time was given to 5 year-old Francis, his brother, sister, and parents. Our 33rd GOT was awarded to 5 year-old Jameson and his mom. Manuel, his 3 sisters, mom, and dad received our 34th Gift of Time. Finally, Mikey, 2 years old, and his parents received our 35th Gift of Time.

We are so grateful for the financial help we are blessed to give these families. We look forward to giving more Gifts of Time in June 2018. We need your help to do this. It takes about $100 to pay for a parent to stay home from work to care for a child with cancer. Thank you for sharing your financial gifts with us.

12/21/2017

We are in the middle of our Annual Appeal, and some of our past Gift of Time families have offered their testimony on what the Gift of Time meant to them. Here is one we recently received:

"Your donation helps families like ours. The Szott Foundation helped us financially when our son was diagnosed with leukemia. We spent 10 months away from home while battling this monster. A great concern of ours was our financial situation as we missed lots of work as we cared for our son. Your donation goes right to the people who need it!! We are very thankful for those who donate and the Szott Foundation for helping us!!!"
Grant and Sherri Levanen

11/20/2017

I just received this beautiful email from our 3rd Gift of Time family. It brought tears...
"If it wasn’t for the Gift of Time I wouldn’t have been able to leave work to stay home with my 13 year old son, Cameron, during his last few months of life. This grant allowed me to be fully present at home instead of going off to work knowing that my son was dying of brain cancer. I had time to read Harry Potter to him when his eyesight was failing, to cook his favorite foods, to play games with him, and to be silly and laugh together, which was one of his favorite things to do. I can’t thank the Szott Foundation enough for the Gift of Time they gave me to spend with my beautiful, loving boy."

11/18/2017

We are very pleased to let you know that the Szott Foundation raised $600 on Give to the Max Day; that's 6 days that parents can stay home from work to care for their child with cancer. A great big THANK YOU to all who promoted GTMD and donated. We are blessed!

11/14/2017

https://donations.fb.com/givingtuesday/

On this global day of giving, make sure your nonprofit is set up to take advantage of $2 million in matching funds, plus fee waivers, through Facebook's charitable giving tools.

11/13/2017

Looking for the Szott Foundation website? As we get our domain information figured out please visit us at http://kathrynszott.wixsite.com/szott-foundation . Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Providing financial support to families dealing with pediatric cancer.

11/13/2017

This is a reminder to all that Give to the Max Day is Nov. 16. Thank you to Barb M. and Barb B. who have already donated. We are so blessed to be the recipient of your gift.

The goal of the Szott Foundation is to lighten the immense financial burden that a catastrophic illness, such as cancer, causes in a family. “We can’t mend a broken heart, but we can help alleviate financial heartache one family at a time.” We have a expanded our area of Gift of Time giving to Mayo…