Footprints In The Sand Foundation

This charity is one of the most compassionate local charities around. They rally community members, forming friendships & huge support teams for families in need. Great people - great foundation. Many can learn from Footrprints...and should!

I do not know where my family and I would be without Footprints in the Sand. A year and a half ago I was diagnosed with a rare disease called Churg-Strauss Syndrome. The effects of the disease - physically, mentally and financially is sometimes overwhelming. Not only has Footprints helped us immensely - they have shown us that there are truly wonderful people in the world.

A close friend of mine was diagnosed with ALS in early 2005. At the time, he was 44, had a wife and 5 kids, and was self employed as a home improvement contractor. The Footprints in the Sand Foundation engaged the family, provided financial support, guidance, and an overall sense of direction during their time of great need. Other assistance was provided to the family during the course of the illness but it all began with Footprints. My friend and his family have expressed to me that the assistance and guidance that Footprints provided to them was more than they could have hoped for and helped them get through this difficult time. They will always be grateful to Footprints. And I will always be grateful too.

I had been wondering about a few of my classmates from high school so I googled my friend Jeff Rizzuto and found him on Footprints in the Sands website. I was so happy to see my friend but so sad to see why he was on the page. I immediately donated and asked Footprints to contact him for me. A little while later, we (some members of the class of 88) decided to have a twenty year reunion and a fundraiser for Jeff. Again, Footsteps helped us with this endeavor and contacted the Rizzuto family for us so we could tell them of our plans. The reunion was a success and I was especially grateful for the time we got to spend with Jeff that night. A year later I attended another fundraiser forJeff and again grateful for that time as well. From what I can see and from what I have heard, Footsteps took very good care of the Rizzuto Family. Donors are always skeptical about where their money really goes when donating to organizations. In this case, any donor could feel confident donating to Footsteps as they are a wonderful organization and use every cent on their families in need.

Footprints has been an amazing organization for many years. The people who are involved really want to help and have great compassion for what they are doing. I have attended many meetings and events all of which have been successful and have helped many families in their time of need.

My husband died 7 years ago from Lung cancer. He was only sick 3 months so it was a shock when he died.My children were 17,14 and 9. Footprints had just started and it was not a name I was familiar with, so when I was approached and asked how could they help, I was so surprised and could not believe there was an organization like this. They took over paying my children's health insurance and also helped cover some of the expenses for my sons college. I felt truly blessed that in my time of need, Footprints reached out and made some of the hardships go away,

Footprints in the Sand Foundation worked -- and continues to work -- in amazing ways for the family of Jeff Rizzuto. I was able to play a humble role in helping the cause by organizing a fund-raiser for the Rizzutos through the Foundation. The work is truly awesome.

Last year my husband died after an extremely difficult 4 1/2 year battle with stage 4 Lung Cancer. Throughout his entire illness Footprints helped our family and continues to help us today. What Footprints so generously shared with us was not only assistance of a financial nature, but also advice, resources, and numerous kind words and actions.This organization touched our lives in ways that I could not have imagined possible. One example of something amazing that Footprints did for our family was to send us on vacation in Florida the year before my husband passed away. It was the last vacation that my husband, our two sons, and I took as a family. Without Footprints, this special time together would have never happened. What I have learned and gained from my experience with Footprints will be in my heart forever. My deepest gratitude to the Villafranco Family, Casey, Maureen and everyone else who is part of this amazing foundation.

It has been a wonderful experience to have had the opportunity to work with so many families over the past 7 years. Although the reasons I had the chance to meet so many families were not as a result of a "happy event", each family taught me how to become a better person in different areas of my life.

I would like to thank everyone, from my family, my mom and dad, sister and brother, cousins, aunts, friends, and those who were once strangers and now friends, for all our hard work and diligence in making Footprints a remarkable organization.

Bill Villafranco