It was on Aug. 21, 2013, when 10-year-old Mt. Laurel resident Alec Kazandjian was diagnosed with leukemia.
His parents, Hakop Kazandjian and Janet Hsu, described the news as devastating.
“We were not expecting it,” Hakop said. “We thought it was something else.”
As devastating as the news was, Alec himself was motivated. While still undergoing treatment at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, he began to raise money for the hospital’s child life program.
One year later, Alec partnered with his older brothers Shant, 15, and Zaven, 13, to form Team Alec Strong to raise money for research and programs at Children Hospital’s cancer center. The team planned to participate in the Four Seasons Parkway Run on Sept. 28 and is continuing its fundraising efforts through the end of the year.
The motivation for the family to fundraise came from Alec’s bravery in the past year. Janet said her son has shown a remarkable amount of strength since the day he was diagnosed.
“When we got the diagnosis, we started crying,” she said. “The first thing Alec said was ‘don’t cry.’ That kind of set the attitude we took.”
Alec said he has never been too worried about recovering from leukemia. He looked at other people he met with at the hospital as inspiration.
“Seeing other people doing good at (recovery) made me do at it,” Alec said about fundraising.
Alec served as an inspiration to Shant and Zaven. The two older brothers decided they wanted to help Alec fundraise. One of the first things they did was create Team Alec Strong bracelets.
“We first started to try and sell bracelets and stuff,” Shant said. “It started a couple months after he was diagnosed.”
The bracelets were just the start of Team Alec Strong’s fundraising efforts. To help gain additional donations, the family reached out to businesses and the school district. They were able to forge a relationship with Jersey Mike’s Subs to fundraise at their stores.
The Mt. Laurel School District has also been welcoming in allowing the brothers to fundraise in their buildings.
“We did fundraisers at the Hartford Back to School night,” Zaven said. “We were there selling raffle tickets.”
The brothers brought in more than $300 at Hartford’s back to school night alone. Hakop said the school district has been a huge help toward forwarding the family’s mission of raising money for childhood cancer research. After Alec was diagnosed last year, his school, Springville Elementary, erected banners in support of his recovery.
“They were very supportive in helping Alec and our family,” he said.
The district is playing a pivotal role in setting up the Kazandjian’s next fundraiser. A 5K fundraiser will take place at Hartford School on Oct. 31, with the proceeds going toward CHOP’s cancer center and Camp No Worries. Hakop said the event will allow Alec’s classmates the opportunity to fundraise themselves. The Kazandjians are also hoping to bring in a representative from CHOP or Camp No Worries for an assembly at the school.
As for Team Alec Strong, it raised $3,860 leading up to the Parkway Run and is hoping to increase that total in the months ahead.
All of the proceeds donated to Team Alec Strong go toward cancer research at programs at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. To donate, visit chop.donordrive.com/team/AlecStrong.
