Dear Friends,
It is my pleasure to share with you JUST TRYAN IT’s 2021 Impact Report. This report provides insight into the impact JUST TRYAN IT has on the families we serve. Our mission is first and foremost to provide financial relief to families with a child in cancer treatment. We are grateful to you for supporting this effort and because of you we were able to help 141 families in 2021.
This past year has been full of highs and lows for many of us. Kids returning to in-person school was a definite high. Omicron surge during the holidays was a definite low. The same is true for JUST TRYAN IT. We celebrated a return to in-person racing in Chapel Hill and Bethesda, hosting two successful and safe events and raising over $200,000 for families facing cancer. At the same time we mourned the loss of two of our STARS, Trent and Abby. They will continue to live on in our hearts inspiring us to be our best.
In 2021, JUST TRYAN IT provided $171,968 in emergency relief grants to 120 families in treatment in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina and Massachusetts. The average grant amount was $1,433.
Seventy-one percent of JUST TRYAN IT patient families are living on a post diagnosis income of less than $60,000 per year. The majority of the JUST TRYAN IT funds (54%) were used to provide stable and secure housing for families. Sixteen percent was used for uncovered medical expenses like physical therapy and the remainder was for transportation (11%), utilities (10%) and funeral expenses (9%).
Additionally, a portion of the JUST TRYAN IT funds go to support our grantees access to the Financial Treatment Program (FTP) offered by our partner Family Reach. The FTP provides financial counseling, budget resources and other support services to families in cancer treatment. As a member of Family Reach’s LiFT Network, JUST TRYAN IT is part of a network of fourteen cancer nonprofits across the country supporting families in need.
The Impact Report provides greater detail on the breakdown of who we serve and how we help them. I hope you will take the time to review this report and thank you for all you do for JUST TRYAN IT and the families we serve.
Thank you,
Maureen Colburn
Executive Director