When Michealo Glennon was diagnosed with leukemia at 18 months old, his mother, Raquel Rolfing, had to drop everything and focus on making sure her son got the care he needed.
“As a single mom, unfortunately, I had to immediately leave my job,” Rolfing told MassLive. Her son initially went through a two-and-a-half-year treatment process immediately following his diagnosis.
“Whatever savings I had left … over the two years, I depleted everything. Sold my car, downsized my apartment, moved in with my sister, did all these things to kind of get myself in a position to just focus on his care,” she said.
After doing well initially, Glennon, now 20, relapsed and needed a bone marrow, or stem cell, transplant, which he got in 2011. However, this put Rolfing in an even more challenging financial position.
“I already [had] medical bills over my head, pink slips every day, eviction [notices]. It was just over the top,” Rolfing said. “I knew I couldn’t get through another treatment plan living like that.”
That was when the single mother started asking for help but faced “months of red tape” for help that never arrived. She eventually connected with Family Reach — a national nonprofit that helps families facing cancer afford everyday essentials such as food, housing, transportation and utilities.
Family Reach partnered with popular indie rock band Mt. Joy for a benefit concert at Big Night Live in Boston on Sunday. The band, which played at TD Garden the night before, was introduced to Family Reach by chef Ming Tsai, an active board member and long-time advocate for the organization.
Mt. Joy’s show helped raise more than $400,000 for Family Reach through select ticket sales and various donations. In addition, an anonymous donor has agreed to match the amount, including any donations received by Friday.
While backstage at the show, frontman Matt Quinn talked about how strongly his band identifies with Family Reach’s mission.
“This tour is the Hope We Have Fun Tour. And on this album, we have a song that touches on a friend of ours who was diagnosed with multiple brain tumors,” Quinn said, referring to Mt. Joy’s song “Lucy.”
“Meeting the community of people going through things like that has hugely inspired us,” Quinn said. And we were fortunate enough to meet the folks, Carla [Tardif] and Ming [Tsai] in Family Reach and hear about what they’re doing, which is just connecting families with resources so that cancer doesn’t bankrupt them or put them in situations where they can’t take care of themselves and their family.
“That’s something that is close to our hearts,” he continued, “and it’s been really beautiful to be a part of. It’s just such an obviously great cause, and they’re doing great work here in Boston, and we’re really stoked to be a part of it.”
“Having Mt. Joy be a part of Family Reach is really big. It’s large,” Rolfing said. “I wish more people got involved and really understood, because there [are] some huge organizations out there, but what they’ve done for us is unlike none other.”
Glennon, who is now cancer-free, said it was special to meet Mt. Joy and see them perform live.
“I‘m so happy that they’re giving me a chance to experience this,” he said. “I have worked my way up from the hospital and doing what I need to do and fighting through the battle, but it’s a blessing that I’m here now.”
Quinn also emphasized the importance of ensuring that people have access to basic necessities, such as food.
“No matter what your political beliefs are, we have a system here in the United States that doesn’t go far enough to protect people from just the mounting health care costs when things like that are completely outside of people’s control,” the singer said. “I think, unfortunately, the private sector and U.S. citizens have to rally around these people and make sure we support our community and lift each other up.”
Family Reach’s work is aimed at ensuring cancer patients can focus on healing while not forcing families to choose between treatment and essentials.
Every year, Family Reach’s Financial Resource Center supports nearly 40,000 people nationwide through financial education, personalized resource navigation and direct assistance to help with everyday expenses, according to its website.
Those looking to donate to Family Reach and help increase the fundraising total from Mt. Joy’s concert, or in general, can do so on the organization’s donation page.