Team Kass Foundation

07/02/2017

Five years today! We love and miss you, Kass. 💗🌸

July 2. Two years. We will never forget.

It was a Monday. The sun was shining. A new day filled with promise, hope, and the uncertainty that walks hand-in-hand with God's greater plan. We woke up with you that morning and knew that day would be our last together.

And looking back now, no words seem adequate to capture what your loss has meant to our family.

We need more of your genuine goodness here.

We miss your smile and listening to your funny stories.

We miss your laughter and your quick wit that kept us all on our toes.

We miss the quiet moments just listening to the birds and watching the sunset from your porch.

We miss watching you care for your garden that you loved so much.

We miss your honesty and the real and thoughtful way you cared for everyone you loved.

We miss your resolve, your determination, your strength of character, and your courage. These attributes you possessed are not easily replicated down here.

We long for just one more hug. One more "I love you". Just one more moment.

But, we know that you live on in our hearts and your spirit is alive in Josephine's sweet smile. We know you are watching over all of the littlest of those in Heaven. You were simply the best of the best at being Josie's Mommy! You used to love this picture of the two of you. Josie would grab your long hair and hold on to it as you held her.

Oh, how we miss the laughter and moments of light and love we shared. Your love was the sweetest....unconditional and enduring.

Not a day goes by that we do not talk about you, think about you, or take for granted how lucky we were to have you in our lives. We were the luckiest!

We will always love you our sweet, kind, and beautiful daughter and sister. We miss you so much.

03/20/2015

We hope that you will find four minutes in your day to learn more about how our Foundation started and how it has evolved over the past two years.

Where there is hope, there is a path forward.

If you have not "liked" our new Foundation page yet, we invite you to do so. You are an important part of our future....

https://youtu.be/gCbAunnkjus

- created at http://animoto.com

02/20/2015

Thank you to all of our Team Kass supporters who have liked our new page! If you have not done so already, we invite you to check it out.

In this effort is where our heart lies. We appreciate the level of support we have received so far. With your help, we look forward to doing more good work in 2015.

Families helping families in the fight against cancer.

01/02/2015

When your life does not turn out as you had planned, you have two distinct choices: stop living or keep walking. For us, the only choice has been to keep going and to try to make something meaningful come from all of the sadness.

We are so very appreciative of the support we have received on this page over the past two years. We want to continue to provide meaningful and valuable services to the community. We hope that 100% of our Team Kass Foundation followers will take a moment to like our new page! While this page will remain, we will likely post our new updates, stories, and photos to the Paternostro Family Foundation page. The good news is that it only takes a moment to press “like”.

Also, we invite you to share our page with your own friends. And, please take some time to check out our new website at http://paternostrofamilyfoundation.org. We invite you to follow us on Twitter .

We look forward to all that 2015 has in store for our Foundation. We know that with your help, there is no limit on what we can do together. I believe (and hope) that our Dad and Kass would be proud of what we are trying to do to help others….one moment, one person, one story….at a time.

Families helping families in the fight against cancer.

12/31/2014

It is hard to say goodbye to 2014. Once again, we endured great loss and sadness. There is no way to capture in words the emptiness that is left behind. Like the tumbling shells and twisted seaweed left behind as the surf heads back to the sea, we are keenly aware that our journey will continue and that the tide will rise again.

We thank every one of our supporters for believing in us this year. The truth is that we will never stop. 2015 marks the beginning of our third year of operation. We may be small, but we are mighty! If our size was measured by the amount of love in our hearts and the determination of our spirit, we would be counted among the largest of organizations. Our dedication to our cause and to the memory of our loved ones will be our wave of hope.

Saying goodbye to yesterday is hard. But, dreaming the big dreams of tomorrow strengthens our faith and reminds us that our road has not yet ended. There are more people to help and more work to be done. Gratitude. That will be our focus in 2015. We are grateful for the chance to do something meaningful to give back in Dad and Kass’s memory and to help those in need.

We look forward to continuing to serve our community as the Paternostro Family Foundation in 2015. We thank you for your support! Happy New Year and God bless!

12/24/2014

Hope remains.

Merry Christmas from the Team Kass Foundation!

We look forward to 2015 as we become the Paternostro Family Foundation. ✨

12/22/2014

Back in November right around Thanksgiving, our Foundation received the most beautiful note from Amy Ruth-Swart. I remembered Amy from a long time ago because we have known her family from way back. I had not spoken with her in years. In part, her message read:

“....We began following the story of your beautiful sister upon hearing of her diagnosis, and our mom was diagnosed with lung cancer not long after your sister was diagnosed. We lost our mom after her 18 month battle last April. I am deeply sorry for the loss of your father, too. We share in the knowledge of the journey, the importance of hope, the sorrow of the loss, and the power of moving forward with a renewed sense of what it means to support others.”

Amy went on to tell us about the Santa Party that she hosts each Christmas for all of the kids of their family and friends where Santa makes a surprise visit. Through this party, they have established a tradition of giving…to show support to a fund or local organization “that is important in our area, or has touched the lives of someone close to us.” In previous years they have supported the SPCA, the Son Light House in Muncy, The Children’s Development Center, and last year, the Nolan Heart of Steel fund.

“This year,” Amy wrote, “we would like to support the Team Kass Foundation and specifically the Harnessing Hope Bags initiative.”

(Pause to wipe away the tears from my eyes…)

What a blessing to be a part of this community! What a blessing to have supporters like Amy and her family who believe in our mission of hope! We are honored to be mentioned along with these other great causes, and so fortunate to have been selected as the recipient of their generosity this year.

We communicated with Amy over the past several weeks to provide all of the information she needed for her guests. Well, this past Saturday was the big day.

Here is Saturday’s note from Amy:

“We just wrapped up our Santa Party. Big turnout. Lots of magic in the air as Santa arrived. And...a wonderful display of generosity by our guests – all in support of the Harnessing Hope bags. Amazing. We have collected $302 of monetary donations so far – a few guests will probably mail donations. And LOTS of items to fill the bags. The Harnessing Hope bags are a special way for so many of us to put our hearts into making a difference. My heart is full, and so pleased we can help out. Love to all of you!”

Thank you to everyone who was a part of this effort, most especially, our blessings to Amy. May your wide-open heart be filled with love this Christmas and may the memories of your dear mother live on most vividly in the beautiful moments - like this one - that you create for others. Merry Christmas and God bless!

12/19/2014

Six days before Christmas and it feels so good to make a small contribution to a local oil company to help cover part of a mother's heating oil bill in memory of Kass. Losing your job while you are battling cancer can have a huge impact on everyday living expenses. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened in this case.

This is what your contribution to our Foundation helps us to be able to do! THANK YOU so much for making these small but meaningful moments possible.

This is our first donation made through a referral from the Susquehanna Health Cancer Center. We are so proud to partner within our local community!

12/14/2014

Dear Team Kass Supporter:

2014 has been a tough year for the Team Kass Foundation after the sudden and unexpected loss of our patriarch and founding board member, our Dad, Tom Paternostro. Yet somehow, despite all that has happened, we find a way to keep moving forward. We know that our Dad would want nothing less.

We have lost so much to this disease, but we have gained purpose to keep moving forward, to lead with our love, and to help where we can...in memory of those we love.

In this video, we share all of the good that happened in 2014, including an exciting announcement about our future at the end!

There is much work to do and we are incredibly grateful to our board, supporters, and donors for believing in us! We look forward to seeing what 2015 has in store!



https://animoto.com/play/6HFpDqyjrV7YVzlz6QKRKg

12/14/2014

Today marks our 27th Team Kass 5K! We run in memory of Kass and now our Dad! Thanks Amy and Kelley!

12/02/2014

"Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great heart." -Mother Teresa

Today is ! We hope that you find a moment to pause and reflect on your blessings today.

Today is a day to give, not to buy; to love what we have, not want what we long for. Today is a day to be alive...and to feel grateful for the chance, because this moment - today - is not afforded to everyone.

We are grateful to our donors & supporters and look forward to what 2015 will bring!

11/26/2014

What are you grateful for? Thanksgiving has always been our favorite holiday. This year, we will find a way to keep walking forward, holding our memories close to our heart. We wish the same for each of you!

Thank you to all of our Team Kass supporters and donors! Our gratitude overflows for you, too! 💛