Peachy the Magazine October/November 2013 | Page 104

Heroes

I

for Children

Inspiration is an interesting phenomenon—it springs from a moment when
we least expect it. A moment of beauty,
a moment in nature, a moment of connection. Inspiration can be a powerful
emotion that overwhelms us, that can
push us in new directions, or plant a
seed of an idea that will become larger
than ourselves.
Two women, Larissa Linton and Jenny
Scott, were both young mothers of
small children when each faced the
pain and heartbreak of having a child
struck by cancer. Each mother lost
her young daughter to a rare form of
leukemia, yet, despite the emotional
obstacles, each found strength and
inspiration in their experience to act on
behalf of and help others.
“My daughter, Allie, was so young
when she was diagnosed, just six
months old,” said Jenny Scott,

104

PEACHY

WRITTEN BY

Laura Thompson

co-founder of Heroes for Children. “She
couldn’t vocalize that she was struggling. I watched her go through a stem
cell transplant at seven-months-old and
thought, ‘If she can do that, I should be
able to do just about anything.’”
Heroes for Children (HFC) was
founded in 2004, with a clear mission:
to be advocates for and provide financial and social assistance to families
with children, up to 22 years of age,
who are battling cancer. After the loss
of thei r daughters to leukemia—Scott’s
daughter Allie was just 9-months-old
when she passed away and Linton’s
daughter, Taylor, was just 4—the two
women connected and were immediately bound by their experiences of
diagnoses and treatments. Linton and
Scott soon recognized the need for an
organization such as Heroes for Children to help support the community.