Thankfulness!

Sunflowers are a symbol of hope. A sunflower blooming in the snow at Maria’s Field of Hope in Avon sends a special message of faith this Thanksgiving!!

“Prayers from Maria” Visits The Normandy Senior Living

The Breakwater Apartments at The Normandy welcomed Prayers from Maria Foundation founder Megan McNamara for an appearance at the facility’s monthly speaker series last Thursday, Nov. 17.

Guests learned of the history behind this very special foundation and how little Maria McNamara, in the midst of her fight with inoperable brain cancer, would pray – not for herself – but for the other childhood cancer patients she met while at St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

“Ed and I would just look at each other, amazed that she could do this,” said Megan. So, in the middle of a family tragedy, the name Prayers FROM Maria Foundation was born.

“There were simply no resources at that time,” said Megan. “We had to become self-educated.” The mission of the Prayers from Maria Foundation emerged. “Our mission is to provide childhood cancer patients with the support they desperately need, by reversing the tragic lack of funding and fueling the most meaningful brain cancer research for kids.”

The Foundation, by supplying incremental funding for Glioma cancer research, is a vital link in gaining larger approval for promising treatment approaches from the National Institute of Health. Today, $12 million in critical research money has been approved through these efforts.

New Home for Field of Hope

Megan also shared news that the Avon Sunflower Field has found a new, permanent home! Maria’s Field of Hope will be moving to an area on the east side of Jaycox Road across from Middleton Road. The area was preliminarily cleared for development, but Maria’s Field of Hope has acquired it. It may open in 2023, if field prep can be finalized. This year, the Field stands alongside Recreation Blvd. near the Crushers Stadium, where a late planting brought blooms in the snow this fall. There is also a Field of Hope at the Cedar Point Causeway, established when the amusement park offered the site when the original location at Jaycox and Chester became unavailable this year.