In honor of my best friend, Shiri Gumbiner, I founded and currently serve as the executive director of the Shiri Foundation. Shiri passed away in 2005 after a long and courageous battle with osteosarcoma—a form of bone cancer.

The goal of the Shiri Foundation is to find a cure for others with this disease. Osteosarcoma affects fewer than 1,000 children per year. Because it is so rare, it receives very little funding and has been nicknamed the “orphan disease.” No major advances toward a cure have been made in over 20 years and approximately one-third the number of children diagnosed—about 300—will die each year.

Our goal is to assist the fight against osteosarcoma by collecting funds and putting them toward promising research projects. Another purpose of the Shiri Foundation is to educate individuals and communities about osteosarcoma. The Shiri Foundation provides outreach to schools, where we discuss the impact of rare cancers. We also organize special events to celebrate the lives of children who are fighting cancer. As an example, we are sponsoring a Spring Prom for cancer-stricken teens who are unable to attend their own high school proms.

I spend 80 hours a month operating the Web site, handling donations, arranging meetings, shipping shirts, advertising our outreach programs, and writing press releases.