It’s Official!
Photo courtesy of Brooklin School
Rosanna’s Legacy
I’ve been thinking about Rosanna’s legacy a lot lately. Maybe it’s because we just passed the one year anniversary of her going to heaven. Maybe because her birthday is just around the corner. Maybe because I think about her all the time. That’s OK, I don’t want to stop thinking about her. That’s one of the beautiful things she left behind, reminders of her everywhere I look, and work she started that she wanted us to continue when she was no longer here.
As sad as I am, I recognize that I am so lucky to be a part of carrying on her legacy; not just for her, but for her son, her family and friends, for other moms fighting cancer, and for the students she taught and hoped to teach. I was so proud of her, as an individual, as a mother, as a teacher, and as a cancer fighter. She called me her biggest cheerleader, but I was one of many. I wanted nothing more than to cheer for her forever, to accompany her to many treatments, to offer support and take care of her in any way I could. But God had other plans for her, and for me and my family.
Part of my healing is to carry on her legacy. Her legacy will live on through all of us. Our family has established a legacy foundation, Rosanna’s Readers & Legacy, Inc., a non-profit recognized by the state of Maine and the IRS as a 501(c)(3). Our goal is to work with schools on the peninsula (Surry, Brooklin and Brooksville to start) to make sure each student receives a book each year on their birthday. Rosanna held a special place in her heart for reading and for teaching children how to read. This has been a labor of love through our grief and also through Covid to start-up, but as you can see it’s been worth every single headache when we get to give these children books on their birthdays.
I personally need to reach out further than the schools to continue her legacy. Another thing that was so special about Rosanna, and I know many of you witnessed this, was her openness about her journey as a young mom facing a metastatic cancer diagnosis. She was blindsided by this diagnosis, we all were. Rosanna started sharing and documenting her journey on Facebook 24 hours after receiving the results of her biopsy. I sat with her as she wrote her first Facebook post, and she said to me, “here we go.” Her heart was shattered, yet she knew she had a story to tell, and her hope was that her journey would help someone facing a similar situation. I know her journey touched a lot of you, and I know she went to heaven knowing how very loved she was. I feel like there is more work to do, though. Rosanna’s journey with cancer was relatively short and she fought so very hard in that short time, while also working full time, raising a young child, being a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. She had to spend time advocating for herself with insurance, she had to explain her medical history to so many different doctors while undergoing active treatment, she kept her prayer warriors posted on all of her news, she wrote a blog, and she spent every spare moment with family knowing that this time was so special to her but maybe more so to us because we would be facing the rest of our lives without her. She never gave up hope, she never gave up fighting, and she never gave up her belief in God’s perfect timing.
My cheerleader spirit can’t get buried along with Rosanna. I know she wants me to find a way to help others. I told you all about the Rosanna’s Journey bags late last summer. I did distribute a few care bags before the fall and winter spike in Covid cases, but there are so many more people I want to help. Once Covid regulations lift and more of us can get vaccinated I hope to continue to distribute bags to young moms undergoing chemo treatments. Please let me know of anyone who might benefit from a chemo care bag. I want to do these things to honor my sister, to help myself heal, and to bring a smile to someone who is crushed by devastating news but picking themselves up and fighting.
To carry out Rosanna’s legacy for years to come, we will need help from our community of friends, family and neighbors. Now that we have finally been able to set up a non-profit (this was a slow process because of grief and Covid), we are accepting donations. If you want to make a donation and feel strongly that it goes to the journey bags or to a particular school (Surry, Brooklin or Brooksville) to buy books, please let me know and I will make sure your donation goes in the right direction. Donations to Rosanna’s Readers and Legacy, Inc. can now be made online. If you prefer to mail a check, please let me know and I will send you the address. You can also send donations to the school of your choice directly, but checks to the individual schools must be made out to the school (Surry Elementary School, Brooklin School, or Brooksville Elementary School) with “Rosanna’s Readers” on the memo line.
There will be so many more updates to come. We can’t wait to have some fun fundraisers and to gather again to honor and keep our sweet Rosanna’s legacy alive.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and I have no doubt Rosanna’s, too.
With Love,
Laura