The Gayle Cronin Foundation is an organization that provides direct financial assistance to families impacted by the burden of cancer and severe illnesses.
Light, Warmth, Love, Inspiration and Support of Children and their Families
04/06/2020
I got a call from St John's Hospital in Santa Monica this week asking for help. The families that they support are impacted by the shut down in our city. They have been laid off or furloughed and at best were barely able to make ends meet as it was. Some of them live in shelters. All of them have children.
We've partnered with them before through The Gayle Cronin Foundation, which is the foundation I started in honor of my mom.
So even though I think this is one of the most challenging times to fundraise given the state of the world and people being uncertain as to what's coming, I know that anything will make a difference for those who can or would like to help.
So The Gayle Cronin Foundation will match dollar per dollar of anything raised here so that we can make a difference for those struggling. We are also using this money to help single parents who have children that are going through chemo and who can't work or make ends meet. I will be personally managing where every cent goes.
Please join me in helping if you're so inclined. I am so very grateful for anything you choose to gift. Even if it's as simple as $1 or $5, it will be treasured!
*on Francesca’s personal page you can see we’ve raised $784 so far. Our goal is $1000. ❤️
03/18/2020
It’s been a little bit since we’ve posted. A lot is going on obviously. We posted a lot about our The Gayle Cronin Foundation Princess Tea Party leading up to and we are so excited to share that it was an explosive success. We were so proud of everyone who contributed and participated and volunteered. We do plan on sharing about the event and sharing photos!
As the founder of the foundation I wanted to take a moment and just appreciate and acknowledge what it took to cancel our very special event that we had planned for children who are coming from one of our local Los Angeles hospitals. We had planned to host an event of magic and whimsical play hosting The Gayle Cronin Foundation Cinderella Ball which was in full swing until about 2 1/2 weeks ago when we realized the most responsible thing to do was to postpone it.
It was a heartbreaking move as everything that needs to be postponed right now might be. Obviously given the children who are coming are immunocompromise it was the most important decision to make.

 
Andrea Smith Poulten and Kim Bushell thank you from the bottom of my heart for your excitement and passion and commitment to what we are doing. I stopped to pick up our business cards today and it was bittersweet because obviously right now we can’t hand them out to anyone. So I wanted to shout it out to anyone who can see these posts and acknowledge you publicly. I know that there are other people who deserve a tremendous amount of appreciation and acknowledgment. This post is dedicated to you and there will be other posts dedicated to them. I know that you are very concerned, both of you, did the right people get acknowledged and I love that about you as well. Thank you!
03/01/2020
On March 21st The Gayle Cronin Foundation is hosting a Cinderella Ball for 50 children, impacted by pediatric illnesses and their parents. This is to be a very special event and we’re committed to having it be whimsical, magical and nurturing for the families coming and volunteers who are partnering to make it so.
We’re planning on having a few special parts to the ball and this post is to reach out to our communities to be able to make it happen. So here’s what we need your help with:
1. Massage therapists.
We want to have chair massages available for the parents. We’ll have a space at the event for parents to relax or chill while at the event if they so choose. Part of that area will include massage. So we’re looking for therapists with chairs who would love to gift that nurturing difference for these parents.
2. Hair professionals
We want to have a “bippity boppity boutique” area for kids. Think braids or buns and glitter magic. So we’re looking for stylists who would love to gift their time with us to make little people feel sparkly.
3. FacePainters.
We are lucky enough to have our very special, generous and loving friend Shannon as our lead and main painter, and with fifty kids she probably needs a second painter. If you know of someone who would give their time for this please let us know. Also glitter tattoos are happening and we would like someone who knows how to do that.
4. General volunteers
Team members who would love love love to give their time and get more out of volunteering than they would put into it, yet put in 100% of their hearts to making a difference. Willing to be of service.
Acts of service come in different forms and we recognize that and welcome it. There are many ways you can contribute to The Gayle Cronin Foundation so if you’re interested in knowing more and volunteering please let us/me know!!!
*photo of our new photo backdrop to share with you!
02/22/2020
We're so excited!!! Tomorrow is our Princess Tea Party!!
02/15/2020
One more week and it’s Princess Tea Party time!!
 
02/10/2020
If you know someone... boy or girl... who loves characters as much as this little Elsa does, then you should send them this flyer.
Yesterday we had our first volunteer training and today is our second. I’ll be training second set of volunteers and will be training our characters for our Royal High Tea Princess Party! It’s so humbling that we have so many people coming together to put this on! *****
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Who is Gayle Cronin? A wife. A fashion designer. A friend. Funny. Full of Life. Amused and elegant, she was nothing if not elegant. However, Gayle was first and foremost my mom. Some people lose their parents and grieve. My loss sent me into a world of grief that could only be understood by people who had also lost. Not even then did that promise understanding, I found. Everyone grieves so differently. Just because someone had been through that type of loss didn’t mean they would understand what I was going through. In fact more often than not, they didn’t. So I kept quiet. It was already too much to bare, let alone share and have to hear how I should be grieving, or when I should move on. It took me a while to really grasp that what I was dealing with was PTSD.
I lost my mom on May 11th 2010. I had been her caretaker in 2009 for over 10 months and then on May 16th 2010, I gave birth to my daughter. Losing my mom and then five days later giving birth to my daughter? That was traumatizing. When I lost mom, I couldn’t see any light. There was no help coming. I don’t even know if I could have ever recovered if I hadn’t had a newborn who needed me. I had to pretend that her death never happened - I had to pretend it wasn’t real, because I couldn’t believe it was real! It was the only way I could survive some days. I couldn’t tell people. No, really. I literally could not speak and I had done public speaking my whole adult life! Both ontologically and physically I couldn’t talk about it. I had to hold it in. Just the thought of answering people’s questions would have crippled me. I didn’t know myself anymore. I had been unstoppable and fierce. Where did I go?
I had never known such devastation. She wasn’t supposed to die. She was supposed to be with me as my daughter entered the world. Then 6 months after she died, her brother, my uncle, my hero and mentor, also passed away. That did me in. Three years after that, while still grappling with a grief I could never explain, My father dies. The hits wouldn’t stop. So I never understood how one of the few things that could keep me going (besides my daughter and my husband), would be helping families with pediatric illness. It seemed so counter intuitive.
Why was this something I could handle? I’m not sure I know. I know it took so much work to be my moms’ caretaker. I know I had to watch the ghastly cost and expense of cancer. I know how isolated and alone I felt. I know how scared I was. I know I chose to stop my life and dedicate who I was, my every waking moment to her and having her live. If that was the impact on me, I can not to this day, get the intensity and impact of being a cancer parent. It’s too much. It’s like everything I went through but a billion times worse.
So what I can do is help where I can. Help pick up the pieces to make things easier where they’re impossible. Because I know it’s needed. That’s why. That’s why this was something I could handle. Because it was and is bigger than me.
So for me, it made sense to do this. To create a Foundation that will help. Help with the burden. Create something bigger than me. Bigger than people. I have NO idea how to run a 501(c)3 Foundation. I know how to make a difference. I know how to make things happen. So I did it. This is it. We will help families and people. We will raise money and we will be there. We will be a smaller version of the big non profits out there and one with person at a time, we will make a BIG difference.
I don’t know if we will get big. I don’t know how much we will do. I do know I would love your input. Your ideas. Your contribution. I would love to put on galas and auctions and raise insane amounts of money to help as many people as possible. I would love help with marketing and big projects! If you know me, you know I would love that.
I made the mistake of looking up some emails from my mom today, in the name of finding something inspiring to write about for this page. Let me just tell you what a mistake that was! I miss her. I am strong now. I’m now ahead of my grief. My power is restored. My grief is mine. I am public now about my loss. I would share with anyone now. I can. This, for the first time in almost 8 years. The miracle is real for me.
So mom, this is for you. Because of you, I am who I am in life. I love you. I miss you so so deeply. You are my light. You are the source of my life and in your name and honor, we will impact many. I promise. Thank you for being the most inspiring incredible mom ever. I only hope I can emulate you for Liliana.
