Forever Captain Poodaman The Ahmad Butler Foundation

Forever Captain Poodaman The Ahmad Butler Foundation ABF supports families battling pediatric cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

ABF’s programs focus on filling the educational, social, emotional, and financial gaps experienced by families post-diagnosis.

It’s National Cinnamon Roll Day! Might as well make dessert a little sweeter tonight with a warm, gooey cinnamon roll. E...
10/04/2026

It’s National Cinnamon Roll Day! Might as well make dessert a little sweeter tonight with a warm, gooey cinnamon roll. Extra icing or just a drizzle- how do you like yours?

Mental Illness Awareness Week begins today. You don’t have to understand everything someone is going through to treat th...
10/04/2026

Mental Illness Awareness Week begins today. You don’t have to understand everything someone is going through to treat them with compassion. Listen without judgment. Lead with kindness.

Sometimes hope has four paws, and comfort needs no words.On World Animal Day, the Ahmad Butler Foundation celebrates the...
10/04/2026

Sometimes hope has four paws, and comfort needs no words.

On World Animal Day, the Ahmad Butler Foundation celebrates the animals who bring companionship, joy, and moments of peace to children and families facing life’s hardest battles. A gentle nudge, a quiet presence, and a little unconditional love. Sometimes the smallest comfort makes the biggest difference.

So celebrate an animal who brings you joy today: buy them a pet-safe treat and give them a little extra love.

The cycles of life aren’t something we think about much when we’re young. But as we grow older, we realize that life doe...
10/02/2026

The cycles of life aren’t something we think about much when we’re young. But as we grow older, we realize that life doesn’t always prepare us for every season we’ll encounter. Yet, prepared or not, somehow we make it through. And when we look back, something about those moments reminds us that there will be other experiences ahead, experiences that, one day, will also become memories. Life just keeps moving.

That got me thinking about a belt I’ve had for over 20 years. Obviously, it’s a sturdy belt because it’s still in amazing condition. But what I’ve always loved about it is that it’s adjustable. Over the years, no matter what size I was, I could simply adjust the belt until I found the perfect fit. In a strange way, that belt created a safe space for me. There was never a moment when it reminded me, “You’ve gained too much weight,” or, “You don’t fit anymore.” Without giving it much thought, I simply adjusted it and it fit.

But life isn’t quite like that. Life has seasons of beautiful sunshine and pillowy clouds, and then there are seasons of thunderstorms, heavy winds, and unexpected rain. And in a strange way, somewhere along the journey, we become the belt. Depending on what life throws our way, we learn how to adjust ourselves to fit the season we’re in. We stretch. We loosen our grip. We tighten where necessary. We make room for change.

Not because every season is comfortable, and not because we always feel prepared, but because life keeps moving even without our permission, and somehow, we learn how to move with it. And I have found that one day we look back at a season we weren’t sure we would survive and realize that we adjusted and we survived.

Chaplain Felicia Anderson,
Director of Compassionate Care

ABF’s Monday Morning Message is this: Make celebrating the small victories a must! Life always tends to pile deadlines ...
09/28/2026

ABF’s Monday Morning Message is this: Make celebrating the small victories a must! Life always tends to pile deadlines onto days that are already full of bills, chores, errands, work, and family responsibilities. So every time you meet one, you’ve achieved a goal. Big or small, it counts. So celebrate it!

Too many times we acknowledge life’s burdens and challenges. We can’t forget to acknowledge life’s achievements, every single one of ’em, no matter what the size. That’s right: pat yourself on the back every chance you get. Recognizing your wins helps you deal a lil better with your losses.

Happy Monday! We wish you a wonderful week ahead. Go ahead and dust your shoulders off. We know you did something worth celebrating.

Today is World Cancer Research Day. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.Awareness shines a light on childhood ...
09/24/2026

Today is World Cancer Research Day. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Awareness shines a light on childhood cancer. Research moves us closer to a cure. At The Ahmad Butler Foundation, we’re working to make HOPE for a Cure a reality for every child battling cancer.

ONE LIGHT BECAME A GLOBAL MOVEMENT.For the first time, Fight With the Lights™ and The Ahmad Butler Foundation have been ...
09/23/2026

ONE LIGHT BECAME A GLOBAL MOVEMENT.

For the first time, Fight With the Lights™ and The Ahmad Butler Foundation have been recognized in an international press release. The announcement confirms that Palazzo Chigi, the headquarters of the Italian government, will join the Fight With Lights and illuminate gold for children fighting cancer.

This movement has extended far beyond the United States, reaching Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the Philippines, New Zealand, Malaysia, Italy, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Aruba, Mexico, and Argentina.

Ahmad’s final wish while battling brain cancer was simple: "to help a lot of people." Today, Ahmad’s wish is becoming a global reality as countries and communities illuminate their landmarks in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Read the Palazzo Chigi press release here:
https://www.ilsole24ore.com/radiocor/nRC_23.09.2026_15.19_426?refresh_ce=1

Explore the participating landmarks:
https://ahmadbutler.foundation/the-fight-with-lights/

“Smile and let everyone know that today, you’re a lot stronger than you were yesterday.”- Aubrey Drake GrahamWORDS OF EN...
09/22/2026

“Smile and let everyone know that today, you’re a lot stronger than you were yesterday.”

- Aubrey Drake Graham

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

You have already survived days you once wondered how you would get through. That strength is still within you. You may be tired, uncertain, or carrying more than others realize, but you are still moving forward and that matters.

Do not measure your progress only by how far you still have to go. Remember how far you have already come. Some victories are quiet: getting out of bed, choosing hope again, praying when you don’t have the words, or simply refusing to give up.

There will be seasons when life does not make sense. During those times, hold on to the truth that a difficult chapter does not determine how your whole story will end.

Chaplain Angela Lenormand, M.Th, B.S.B.M , LC

ABF's Monday Morning Message: Fight for Yourself, Too!Many of us fight tirelessly for everyone else. We speak up for tho...
09/21/2026

ABF's Monday Morning Message: Fight for Yourself, Too!

Many of us fight tirelessly for everyone else. We speak up for those who feel unheard, protect those who need support, and carry burdens that were never ours to carry. Yet when it is time to defend ourselves, we sometimes become quiet because we do not want to disappoint people, create tension, or be misunderstood.

Hard decisions do not always mean something has gone wrong. Sometimes they mean you have finally decided not to abandon yourself or your values just to keep everyone else comfortable.

If someone needs our help, or needs us to fight for them, we do not hesitate to step in, speak up, and stand beside them. But we must also show ourselves that same courage and fight just as hard for ourselves. No one will protect your voice, your peace, your purpose, or your future quite like you will.

So, don’t forget to fight for yourself, too!

Sunrise Faith: Above the CloudsFaith is often spoken about in religious or spiritual terms, but it is not limited to eit...
09/18/2026

Sunrise Faith: Above the Clouds

Faith is often spoken about in religious or spiritual terms, but it is not limited to either. Faith is also woven into the ordinary decisions we make every day. We sit in a chair believing it will hold our weight. We make plans for tomorrow believing there will be a tomorrow to meet. We trust people we love with parts of ourselves we cannot protect once we have given them away. We live much of our lives without certainty, yet we continue to move forward because somewhere beneath our questions, there is enough trust to take the next step. That is the kind of faith I think about when I use the words, Sunrise Faith.

For some, that faith is grounded in love, community, memory, human resilience, nature, or the belief that life still carries meaning even when we cannot make sense of what is happening. The purpose is not to decide whose faith is more valid. It is to recognize that most of us already have some place within ourselves where we have learned to stand when certainty is unavailable. That matters when you love a child who is living with a life-threatening illness.

There are experiences for which no amount of positive thinking can prepare you. There will be fear. There may be anger, exhaustion, resentment, disappointment, and helplessness. Faith does not remove any of that. What faith can do is give us somewhere to place our feet while everything around us feels uncertain. The image of the sunrise reminds me that the sun does not cease to exist even when clouds move across the sky. The clouds are real. They can be dark enough to change what we see and heavy enough to make the day feel different. But they are not the entire sky.

In much the same way, illness, grief, fear, and uncertainty can become so large that they seem to define everything. In those moments, faith, whatever faith means to you, can remind you that there is still a foundation beneath the part of life that you cannot control. It gives us permission to stop demanding that we understand everything before we allow ourselves to live the day we have been given. It allows us to acknowledge, “I do not know what is going to happen,” without automatically turning that uncertainty into, “I cannot survive what happens.”

When life hits the hardest, your understanding of faith can, over time and often without you realizing it, help you develop ways of enduring things you once could not imagine having the strength to face. There are also days when endurance is nothing more than telling the truth that you are angry, tired, frightened, and do not understand any of this, without deciding that those feelings make you weak.

My hope is that whatever your journey was yesterday, is today, or will be tomorrow, you remember that the sun is still shining even when you can’t see it.



Chaplain Felicia

[email protected]

Address

Philadelphia, PA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18662235485

Website

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