Highland organization devoted to fighting childhood cancer perseveres through COVID-19
Like so many industries, Leaps of Love in Highland has had to adapt and overcome during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Traci Riechmann, the president and founder of the organization, has been pleasantly surprised with how well Leaps of Love has persevered.
“It’s been a really fast year,” she said. “I thought the pandemic was going to take us down or be the longest year of our life. We found a way to make it have a positive impact on Leaps of Love and the families we touch.”
Leaps of Love — also referred to as LOL — is an organization that embraces families affected by childhood brain tumors and late-effects of childhood cancer. And throughout the pandemic, virtual connections have become the new norm and, of course, a necessity.
“We had to go virtual, which was not something I wanted to do. I’m a very personal person,” Riechmann said. “Not being able to go and talk to the families in person was kind of a killer for me. We did a lot more Zoom calls with families. We sent them packages through the mail or Amazon.”
Another adjustment Leaps of Love made was with its “Share Your Love” holiday adoption program. Typically, the effort focused on one family around the holidays. However, Riechmann and Leaps of Love expanded the concept, recognizing families and young people fighting childhood cancer year-round. Riechmann said they first started exploring this around-the-clock option in 2019.
“Children are being diagnosed with cancer on a daily basis. So we kind of took it upon ourselves to do the Share Your Love program through the entire year,” she said.
In turn, Riechmann said Leaps of Love reached out to St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis and Mercy Hospital St. Louis to assist.
“If they had a family who needed help, we reached out to our supporters. We started Amazon lists and Facebook lists. We’re still trying to stay safe during the pandemic but also still trying to support the families in desperate need,” she said.
Riechmann added the adopted family could be a new childhood cancer case, a relapse case or simply a family having a hardship.
“That was nice for us to work and be connected with the hospitals through the pandemic and get more families we could reach out to on a different basis,” Riechmann said.
Another pandemic-related adjustment involved starting Facebook groups with struggling families, which has led to several additional new connections. Events have included virtual escape rooms or virtual Family Feud games.
“We found different ways to connect,” Riechmann said. “We tried to be creative to keep the flow going.”
Riechmann also credited the organization’s supporters for making the COVID transition as seamless as possible.
“I feel the supporters have been just as diligent to help us keep the momentum going with the families. I’m very blessed to have the supporters that we have. Even with the pandemic, the donations — either monetary or in-kind — were coming in droves. It was very exciting to see all the people who wanted to help even through the pandemic,” Riechmann said.
LOL hosts first-ever virtual retreat
Leaps of Love hosts a retreat for cancer families each spring, but canceled it in 2020 due to the pandemic. This spring, they resumed the annual event, but did so virtually April 9-11.
Overall, four families and 30 individuals participated and the retreat “was wonderful,” Riechamm said.
“We did a lot of Zooming through the weekend,” she added. “It was just a whole lot of fun. Using my Leaps of Love volunteers and their talents and strengths they have brings out so much laughter. Just being with the families virtually and being able to reach out on a personal basis was a great connection for Leaps of Love and the families we serve.
“We look forward to doing some more virtual retreats since it was so successful.”
In-person interaction, virtual happy hour
There was some in-person interaction, as a Leaps of Love volunteer went to a particular family’s house. All LOL volunteers are fully vaccinated, everyone wore masks and all COVID-19 protocols were strictly adhered to.
“We got to have a more intimate background with one of the families for the weekend,” Riechmann said. “We made it as safe as we could. The whole weekend turned out really good, a lot better than I anticipated.”
Riechmann also hosted a virtual happy hour with the mothers the Saturday of that weekend.
“It was very good. We got to talk to each other on a personal basis. They even started a Facebook group for themselves. It was very touching to see how the mothers connected,” she said.
Interested in becoming a LOL volunteer?
Riechmann said people have shown tremendous interesting in volunteering for LOL. She noted, while the pandemic still impacts the organization, anyone can play a role, whether making cards to take to the hospitals, baking cakes or making afghans or masks for youth.
Furthermore, Riechmann is touched by the overwhelming interest and said she’d find a role for a volunteer.
“You can just to sit down with me and we can talk about what your strengths are in your life. There’s always some type of fit to be with Leaps of Love,” Riechmann said. “I feel there’s something for everyone to be a volunteer and give back to Leaps of Love or other organizations. We can’t go out and visit the families or the hospitals but we can brainstorm the ideas and talents you have to help the cancer families.”
About Leaps of Love
According to the Leaps of Love website, “With the growing number of children diagnosed every day, our goal is to help these families engage together and give them hope, strength and encouragement to endure the challenges everyone in the family faces. Family retreats, social events, outings, workshops and more can help give these families the opportunity to strengthen their lives with the support, wisdom and encouragement of others who have experienced similar scenarios to theirs.”
Moreover, Leaps of Love — which celebrated its 10th anniversary in February 2020 — assists childhood cancer families with areas of focus to include brain tumors and late-effects of their treatments. All services and programs are free of charge.
Located at 1005 Broadway in Highland, Leaps of Love is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and by appointment Saturday-Sunday. For more information or to donate to Leaps of Love, call Riechmann at 618-410-7212.
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 11:12 AM.