Feb 20, 2020 (Washington, DC): The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, also known as Tzu Chi USA, is calling for donations that will cover the cost of rides Alejandro Soto González, a 9-year-old cancer patient in Silver Spring, MD, to make it to his cancer treatments at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Our fundraiser is called “Rides for Alejandro“.
Tzu Chi volunteers first met Alejandro and his mother, Zaira, in January after an introduction from YMCA of Metro DC’s Youth & Family Services Linkages to Learning program. They learned that Alejandro, his mom, and older brother were on a visit from Guatemala when Alejandro lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital in Silver Spring. He was sent to Johns Hopkins, where he was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer known as primary intracranial sarcoma. Alejandro was operated on the following day.
Unprepared to take on his full scope of medical treatments, Alejandro and his family have found relief after Johns Hopkins covered the vast majority of his medical expenses, including his surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. He is to receive treatment through September 2020.
To give the family further aid, Tzu Chi volunteers are providing the family with a cash card, valued at $300, to use for their most pressing expenses as Alejandro continues treatment. After assessing their other needs, too, volunteers, including the Tzu Chi Greater Washington DC’s Executive Director, Frank Chen, and his wife Sue, realized Tzu Chi could best help by arranging them one-way rides to the hospital, where his uncle can pick him up after.
We request help in spreading the call for volunteers to give or help cover a one-way ride for his pre-scheduled appointments. Learn more about Alejandro’s story at Giving Hope to a Young Cancer Patient. Here’s how the public may participate:
donate via mobile on Tzu Chi Connect
donate by phone at 1-888-9TZUCHI (888-989-8244)
donate online at TzuChi.us/Donate/Rides4Alejandro
donate via check, payable to “Tzu Chi” and specifying “Rides for Alejandro” (mail or bring your check to a Tzu Chi office near you)
CONTACT
Anik Ghose, [email protected], 917-595-6545
