January 15, 2004

Contact:
Jennifer Meriam, Director
(954) 262-5355
Mara Kiffin, Coordinator
(954) 262-5350
Elizabeth Ninomiya, Writer
(954) 262-5309

13th Annual LoveYJen Family Festival Benefiting Children With Cancer And Their Families To Take Place Saturday, February 7th

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Family fun all in the name of helping children with cancer and their families will be the order of the day at the 13th Annual LoveYJen Family Festival on Saturday, February 7th, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Nova Southeastern University’s main campus in Fort Lauderdale. The festival supports the LoveYJen Fund for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and the Sun-Sentinel/WB39 Children’s Fund, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. The festival offers family fun for children of all ages with carnival games, kiddie rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, a “Sports Zone,” arts and crafts and activity booths, an infant/toddler play area, a wildlife and endangered animal exhibit, a storytelling tent, and three stages featuring continuous family entertainment, among many other fun and exciting activities.

The LoveYJen Fund helps hundreds of families cope with the financial stresses of living with cancer, such as non-medical programs and services not covered by insurance; trained professionals to help families deal with grief, pain and fear; living expenses for families in crisis; transportation costs; medication, and pharmaceuticals so families can concentrate on what’s most important – caring for their child. One hundred percent of the contributions to the fund are used to carry out this mission for families and children being treated at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

About Jen:
When Jennifer Masi was three years old, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer that attacks the nervous system. Through years of treatment, Jennifer found ways to make the daily reality of living with cancer easier, both for herself and for others with this disease. As a student of the University School of Nova Southeastern University, Jennifer involved her classmates in her efforts to bring cheer to children with cancer. Together they spent weekends volunteering in the pediatric oncology wing of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. They decorated the halls, hosted holiday parties, and shared their love and laughter with the children and their families.

Jennifer died of cancer when she was fourteen years old, but her spirit lives on in the LoveYJen Fund her parents founded. Every gift from the fund carries Jennifer’s favorite signature, “This is for you, with love, from Jen.”

Revenue for the LoveYJen Fund is generated primarily through the annual LoveYJen Family Festival. The one-day event is held each year in February and is hosted by NSU’s Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies. Organized by Jennifer’s schoolmates, teachers, family, and friends after her death, the LoveYJen Family Festival raises more than $100,000 each year.

To find out more about the LoveYJen Family Festival and the LoveYJen Fund, or to volunteer, please call the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation at (954) 985-3434.

Nova Southeastern University’s Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies, formerly known as the Family Center, provides a range of programs designed to strengthen families and enhance the ability of parents and caregivers to foster the healthy development of children. The institute, housed at the Jim & Jan Moran Family Center Village on NSU’s main campus, showcases best practices in the fields of early childhood education, family support, and parenting education, achieving its mission through direct services to families and children, and development and implementation of early childhood education and training programs, community outreach programs, and advocacy. Some of the institute’s programs include Early Learning Programs designed for children birth through five years of age, an infant/toddler childcare center, the Family Center Preschool, and the Baudhuin Preschool, a specialized program for children with autism spectrum disorder. For more information on the Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies and its programs, visit http://www.nova.edu/msi.