Jack was a little boy,
Born 8-30-08 and diagnosed with DIPG on Oct. 28, 2011. This is a glimpse into his experience with school, coming home on the bus. I was painfully aware of how precious the time was…
2017 accomplishments:
- 1/30/2017–the DIPG Awareness Resolution is introduced as H. Res. 69, with Congressman Steve Knight (R-CA-25) and Jackie Speier (D-CA-14) introducing.
- 4/30/2017–Relay for Jack nets $1250 for DIPG Research at Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute, cc-TDI. Relay for Jack was “Run the Rocks” at Vasquez Rocks County Park in Agua Dulce, CA.
- 5/1-5/3–Jack’s Angels advocates in Washington with the Alliance for Childhood Cancer, supporting the Childhood Cancer STAR Act, and the RACE for Childhood Cancer. H.Res.69 was not on the Alliance Agenda*
- 5/17/2017–DIPG Awareness Day in Santa Clarita CA, the State of California, and in 20 other states in the USA.
- September 2017–the formation of DIPG Advocacy Group
- 12/4-12/8/2017–DIPG Advocacy Group’s first official trip to Washington
2016 accomplishments:
- 1/13/2016–HRes586, National DIPG Awareness Resolution is introduced to the US House of Representatives by Congressman Steve Knight(CA-25) in collaboration with Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-14) and both Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus for Childhood Cancer.
- 4/20-24 200 mile DIPG Awareness Run for HRes586 from Bakersfield to Huntington Beach, CA, honoring the McKenna Claire Foundation, Jack’s Angels Foundation, and the N8 Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
- 5/28 Inaugural “Relay for Jack” event at Vasquez Rocks County Park, benefiting DIPG Research at cc-TDI, the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (Jack’s 12 Pebbles Project)
- Jack’s Angels Foundation receives a Congressional Certificate of Special Recognition for dedication to DIPG awareness and research 5/28/2016
- Childhood Cancer Talk Radio, debuting 1/14/2016, reaches over 3 million listeners in its first 4 months of weekly airtime.
- Joint effort with Michael Mosier Foundation and Smashing Walnuts Foundation to re-introduce the National DIPG Awareness Resolution for 2017, choosing the date May 17, 2017 to be the targeted first National DIPG Awareness Day.
2015 Advocacy Report
Our Mission: To find solutions for DIPG and pediatric brain tumors by promoting the funding of creativity in scientific research, raise public awareness with activism and advocacy, and to support the afflicted.
Our Vision: We believe in and see a world where our children are loved and prioritized in our actions as much as they are in our spoken values, where science works with nature as partner rather than conqueror, and where our human and spiritual values determine our currency.
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Jack’s Angels is driven by volunteer energy. We have no paid officials, and are surviving on community goodwill. Our aim is spiritual first, commercial only insofar as it serves the purpose of raising awareness to the urgent need for research for our children. Our officers are listed below.
Janet Demeter, President
Blessed with varied interests and an artistic and musical upbringing, Janet had health challenges throughout her young adult life. Despite these she graduated Cum Laude from Wellesley College with an award of distinction for acting, and had also been a champion equestrian. She began a family with her husband Barry later in life, and had finally found happiness with daughter Sophie-Marie (3/12/06) and then baby (Jack 8/30/08). Five weeks after his birth, the family escaped a wildfire in which all worldly possessions were lost. The family relocated in December of 2008 to Agua Dulce CA where they currently reside.
Jack began to have unsettling symptoms at the age of 3; he was taken to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and was diagnosed with DIPG, or diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, on Friday Oct. 28, 2011, indisputably the darkest experience of Janet’s life. The outrage of it made her determined to find the good in the situation, and she asked God to “Put me to work!” After Jack’s death, she remained determined to start working to find solutions to DIPG and incorporated Jack’s Angels at the end of 2012; the Foundation began its work in 2013. Despite the fact that DIPG is responsible for the majority of brain tumor deaths in children, she had been told there were no solutions for Jack because “the numbers aren’t great enough for investors.” This remains the primary motivation in her advocacy work, to prioritize children’s lives in our medical system in the United States.
In 2016 Janet Demeter started “Childhood Cancer Talk Radio” as Jack’s Angels advocacy arm for children with cancer, and DIPG Advocacy Group in 2017 in support of awareness legislation for DIPG and the urgent need for greater pediatric cancer research funding, continuing to this day.
Secretary Pro-Tem: Sandra Beck
Treasurer Pro-Tem: Paul Miller
