A Reflection of 10 Years
Time, or the perception of time is truly an amazing thing. It can make days flow into weeks, months into years, and before you know it … in the “blink of an eye” …a decade … or 10 years… has past.

Maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Maybe that’s what gives us strength to get through the most difficult of time. Maybe it’s that way to give you the distance you need to be able to reflect on what you know is truly important and valuable in your life. Unfortunately, there is no amount of time nor distance that can fill the emptiness or the hole that is put in your heart when you lose a child.

To even mention the phrase… “10 years”…is beyond belief. It’s beyond belief to think it’s been that long since we’ve had Josh with us, it’s also beyond belief when you reflect on what we, The Joshua Kahan Fund has been able to accomplish these past 10 years.

What started in our basement with a small group of founders and personal friends has blossomed into something far beyond what many thought could ever be.

"Smiles"
Our Smiles program is truly one of the most heartwarming programs ever conceived. We experienced first hand what it meant to see Josh smile. It was amazing how one of life’s simplest pleasures … a “smile”…brought such light and joy into our room. But equally importantly it brought us HOPE. It was for this reason that the “Smiles” program was created. Our partnership with Sesame Place goes beyond words. There is NOTHING too much for them. Our monthly visits to the Oncology wing at Children’s Hospital are done without cameras or fanfare. The toys and pictures we give each child is our way of giving them something that doctors cannot “Smiles medicine”. When you see a “smile” in a place that was not there before you arrived you know without a doubt that you have made a difference in the life of a child dealing with cancer.

CHOP Prom
This past May we expanded our “Smiles” program when we held the first ever CHOP Prom. With help and intuitive from Betsy Fischer we created what was called “one of the greatest events ever to be brought to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.”... the CHOP Prom. All the children were invited regardless of age. Dresses and suits were given out and hair salons were set up throughout the hospital. While the kids were readying themselves for the evening the cafeteria was being transformed. Walls were covered with magnificent fabric, tables were set and waiters in tuxedos are getting ready to serve butler food and punch in sparkling glasses. One by one each child came down from their rooms all dressed up. They walked down a long red carpet under a balloon archway… stopped… “smiled” and had their picture taken. Whether on crutches, in wheelchairs or with their oncology pole at that moment they all had one thing in common… no one was sick… and they were all “smiling”…. That night our Fund’s “Smile” program reached further than ever before. We have already confirmed our 2nd annual Prom for next May.

Super Scooper “All-You-Can-Wat” Ice Cream Event
This is by far the largest annual ice cream party in the city of Philadelphia. Each year thousand and thousand of people come to our Super Scooper to experience what can only be called “true happiness”. Where else can you walk into a tent and choose from over 20 different ice cream manufacturers and more than 50 different ice cream and water ice flavors. You can stay as long as you want and eat as much as you want; All for a donation of just $5.00. These past 9 years more than 100,000 people have come though our gates and have eaten more than 21,000 gallons of ice cream which equates to over 1 Million servings of frozen treats. But best of all we have raised almost $500,000 from this event alone.

Our Funding
These first 10 years have been very special. We have already been called the “fasting growing philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing the mission of the division of Oncology at Children’s Hospital”.

10 years of “Smiles”, hope and helping children with leukemia has brought us to a very special evening.

Because of all your efforts in our fundraising activities we have the ability to do something that has never been done before. We are establishing a permanent Research Chair solely dedicated for the purpose of finding a cure for pediatric leukemia. Tonight we commit to donate $1,000.000 to the Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia to create the Joshua Kahan Pediatric Leukemia Research Chair. Never before has such a Research Chair been solely dedicated to finding a cure for pediatric leukemia at Children’s Hospital. Once completed doctors & scientist will have tools and funding they did not have prior to our Funds existence. To show the importance of our donation and to further our tremendous partnership The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has agreed to also donate an additional $1,000,000 into the Joshua Kahan Research Chair. This $2,000,000 endowment is unprecedented and hopefully will bring us that much closer to finding the cure we are all striving for.

Reality
This past decade the medical community has made tremendous strides in cancer research. Many more children will survive than ever before but even in today’s world if a child is diagnosed with the form of leukemia Josh had AML their chances of survival are still less than 50%.

Our Commitment
In memory of Josh and all the other children like him who continue to fight for their lives on a daily basis, we promise you this: we will not stop, we will not falter, and we will not give in to tragedy. We will stay strong. We will stay committed in our fight against pediatric leukemia! This disease must be stopped. … The Joshua Kahan Fund exists solely for this reason.

Our Thanks
It is impossible to put into words the gratitude and appreciation we have for each and everyone one of you. These past 10 years have taught us much. It has taught us that commitment, passion and unselfishness can take you to places that you can only dream of. Without you, we never could have accomplished the tremendous achievements we have so far. With your continued help, we will chip away at this insidious disease called leukemia …. because when it’s all said and done, there truly is “no greater cause on earth… than our children”.