For friends and family of Steven Michael Mackin, today is a day of remembrance.  On October 28th, 2006 – Steven passed away from Ewing’s Sarcoma and today marks the second anniversary of his death.

As we move into two years of Steven’s passing, a lot of mourning and sadness has passed – along with the introduction of new positive things that we can reflect on as well.  Stomp Out Cancer has grown by leaps and bounds, and we continue to live through Steven fighting to raise money to help stop Ewing’s Sarcoma.  Steven was afraid that he had not left his mark on the World, but that is far from reality.  Steven Mackin has inspired, created, and provided us with the strength to find Hope for others who are fighting cancer.  Steven is our continued motivation.

Today, Stomp Out Cancer is mailing a check to The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center At John Hopkins (here) for $5,000.00.  This, along with many more payments to come will go to assist Dr. David Loeb and his research staff work to find less toxic treatment methods and early detection tests for Ewing’s Sarcoma – and push further for a cure.

Today is also a special day for us, because our Volume 2 CD is now OFFICIALLY available.  The CD is titled "Hope," in tribute to Ben Lanman, a very brave young man who had Ewing’s Sarcoma and is now (through the care of Dr. David Loeb and his staff) celebrating his eleventh birthday today! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!!

It is true that good things can come from the worst of times, and while we miss Steven every day – we are thankful for the many blessings that we have received from so many caring people.  Kindness through donations, sponsorships, and volunteer work have pushed us farther than we ever could have imagined.  We have made new friends and loved ones, and we have found the courage to continue forward for our cause – to put an end to this horrible disease.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us with our mission, you are truly the special ones and you will bring "Hope." 

We love you Steven.

Sincerely,
The Stomp Out Cancer Board

Nothing stops Liv Lanman, the Sister of Ben Lanman who worked hard to bake a ton of sweet treats for her bake sale on Saturday, June 21st, 2008.

Liv also made bead bracelets, sold lemonade, ice pops and raised a very proud $100.00.  The idea was sprung into life by Liv who wanted to do something to help the cause, and we think this was an AWESOME idea!   GO LIV!!!!!

Liv was by Ben’s side through his whole fight with Ewing’s Sarcoma, and she has a lot of love in her heart for others in need.  This event was so thoughtful, sweet, and loving that we wanted to make sure that everyone knows how special Liv is – and what a great BIG sister she is as well!

Liv, thanks so much for all your hard work and those sweet treats!  Big hugs and cupcakes all around!

We are happy to report that we received an order from Japan, and our Volume 1 CD is now traveling across the world in Steven’s memory.

For those of you who don’t know, Steven loved to travel and having his CD go all the way to Japan is a big deal to us!  In recent weeks, we have also shipped to Canada, Austrailia, and of course Las Vegas!  Viva’ Las Vegas!

Everyone here at StompOutCancer.com is enjoying mailing out these CD’s to all of these wonderful places, and allowing Steven’s memory to travel with them.  Steven’s big dream was to travel to Rome, so we are hoping to be able to get an order from there! 

We only have 14 CD’s left in our inventory, so if you want your copy, please act fast because they are running out!  Special thanks to our dear friend in Japan who ordered our Volume 1 CD!   Being able to send this CD over to Japan is very special to us! 

Nancy Beck is a humanitarian who lives in Kentucky, and she has a passion for many things.  She loves horses, gardening, and one of her most talented passions is painting.

When I asked her if she would consider painting the album cover for our "Stomp Out Cancer Volume 2 CD," I was immediately presented with a grin and numerous sketches of ideas from Nancy that exploded into life on her canvas.

Clouds, balloons, and the power of hope are currently finding themselves artistically interpreted on Nancy’s canvas as she works to complete two paintings which will be incorporated into the CD as the album cover art.  Today, I had the fortunate ability to stop by her studio and view her work in progress, which overjoyed me.   The painting that she has done so far is breathtaking, with eleven balloons (Ben, the child we are honoring on our volume 2 cd) will be eleven the same day our CD releases!  There is so much color, and the balloons drift up into a nice range of clouds with a peek of sunlight and rays of hope which spray out in a comfortable warmth.

Nancy Beck’s contribution is one that we cherish, and of course – it’s something very near and dear to me because she is my Mother, and I love her very much.  Mom, you are so talented, and this is such a beautiful piece (or should I say pieces) that I am so excited to see! 

Because of Nancy’s contribution, a ray of HOPE will become a visual element that will be a part of our years campaign to help children and young adults have HOPE as well.

I love you Mom!

Sincerely,
Jake A. Wheat
President

Just wasn’t impressed with the old layout, and decided tonight to work on adding some new features, and a new look!  At the top of the website you will see our special links for information, purchasing the cd, and contact information for us.  Also, we have installed a counter that tells how many people are online throughout the day!  (We hope lots, but you have to help us spread the word first!)

We also have a registration form at the bottom left of the website where you can register and post comments or participate in article discussions right here online!  This would be a great way for you to review our CD, or to simply leave a message of hope – thanks – courage – or share your story.

If you click on our “Music Video” image, you can launch our YouTube page where you can watch our very special tribute to Steven Mackin, along with our Ewing’s Sarcoma awareness video featuring “The Ranchhands: When Everything Changed,” which is on the CD “Stomp Out Cancer: Indie Musicians Fight Ewing’s Sarcoma.”

If you haven’t already purchased your copy, click the BUY NOW button at the top of the website today, and get your order in!  Supplies are limited, and we are running out of our first shipment!  Don’t wait to go on backorder, help us meet our goal and order your copy today!

Thanks again for stopping by, and for your support!

Yesterday’s balloon launch was indeed a celebration, and also a day where we could come together in Steven’s memory and pay tribute to him.  I went home and crashed out on the bed, and went to sleep until late today – and I had something on my mind.

Of course, if you speak with Steven’s family they will tell you that Steven’s passing has brought them close to people from all over, in many special ways.  There is fate working it’s magic here, and that is all that they (and I) can say regarding this project.  How do I mean fate?  Well, lets see – here is one really interesting example: October 28th was recently named “Wonder Woman Day,” in Portland, Oregon.  Steven was a big “Wonder Woman” fan, see link below for the actual proclomation!

http://www.wonderwomanmuseum.com/WWDay2/WWD07_Proclamation.jpg

(Special thanks Sheila & Steven’s friend who let us know about this!)

Of course, October 28th was the day that Steven passed away – and I think that in some way, (call me kooky) Steven had this day dubbed “Wonder Woman Day,” to give us all a smile and a wink-wink-nudge-nudge.  I can see him now laughing about us all figuring this out.  Wonder Woman should be so proud, huh?

 There are many others, some are far too personal to be put on a blog like this – but you get my drift.  In many many ways, Stomp Out Cancer was given a little help from above, from a big personality – and we can’t thank you enough for your support!

Friends,

Please keep Steven’s family in your thoughts and prayers at this time.  He is loved, and very much missed by us all – and his family needs your spiritual support. 

If you want to leave a message for them, please register and comment on this post.  I am sure they would love to read your messages. 

Your support is sincerely appreciated.

Respectfully,
Jake A. Wheat

Well, the Stomp Out Cancer CD’s have landed in Louisville!  According to the UPS website, they arrived at:

This means that tomorrow I will have them, and we will be “in hand” with some of the coolest music on earth!  YAY!  Lets not get too excited ok?   Im not going to sleep much tonight!

UPS has our CD’s in route to Louisville, Kentucky as of 7:46 am this morning!  They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow here – and I am so excited I cannot see straight!  Please watch here for additional updates about their arrival process, and the countdown to the big day! 

Are you going to the memorial?  If so, please leave us a comment and let us know!

Special Thanks To Troy Edlin & Minit Print
(Minit Print Donated 25 FREE Posters To Stomp Out Cancer!)
VERY NICE!  VERY NICE INDEED!

[What would we do without our designer Troy?]
www.troyedlin.com