‘Be The Match in West Hartford’ will be held on Monday, Sept. 22, at the Lollipop Tree Nursery School in the Emmanuel Synagogue.

By Ronni Newton

Lollipop Nursery School Owner/Director Jon Scher believes in the power of community, and teaching the students in the preschool the value of coming together as a community, but that’s just part of the reason that the school will be the site of a bone marrow drive on Sept. 22.

Steve, Shana and William Waxman. Photo courtesy of the Waxman family.

“As a school and as a rule I love to support and champion causes that people can get behind. From a personal standpoint, this is also for a good friend of mine,” Scher said.

Steve Waxman, the parent of a former Lollipop Tree students who is now in kindergarten, was diagnosed with chronic myogenious leukemia (CML) last October.  Since then he  has been undergoing oral chemotheraphy.

“His treatment is going well, but the only real cure is through bone marrow transplant,” Scher said.

Neither of Waxman’s siblings is a match, and the family is hoping that if he ultimately needs a bone marrow transplant, there will be a registered donor who is a match.

“The test is a quick swab – that’s it,” said Scher.

Even if a match for Steve Waxman is not found, the family and Scher understand the importance of increasing the number of registered potential donors.

According to the “Be The Match in West Hartford” website, “The bone marrow registry is the only option for thousands of people needing a life saving bone marrow transplant every year, in fact 70% of people needing a transplant must turn to the registry. With a simple swab of your cheek you can join the registry and potentially save the life of a mother, father, son or daughter. We know very well, that if one day we turn to the registry for Steve and have a match, we will be forever grateful.”

This isn’t a fundraiser for the school, and the Lollipop Tree students are much too young to be directly involved although Scher said that eligible teachers plan to register. “It’s a teaching moment for sure … to be a part of something in the community. It’s the little things that make a difference. This is about someone from our Lollipop community, and that stretches into friendship and bonds that last.”

The school will also host a bake sale and raffle during the bone marrow drive to raise funds to help offset the cost of bone marrow donation and transplant.

“It’s about giving awareness to an event, to fight a disease, to hopefully save lives,” said Scher.

The bone marrow drive will be held at Lollipop Tree from noon until 2 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22. Lollipop Tree is located in the Emmanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Dr., West Hartford. For details about who is eligible to donate, visit the “Be The Match in West Hartford” website. Be The Match will also accept financial donations and that information is available on the website.