Latest news with #RocSolidFoundation
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘So thankful, appreciative': Playset built for 7-year-old with leukemia in Montgomery County
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. () – Seven-year-old Fallon D'Aguiar was diagnosed with leukemia in December. Because of her symptoms, that meant no more public playgrounds. Volunteers from StarKist and the Roc Solid Foundation were at Fallon's home Friday to bring the playground to her. The group of volunteers worked tirelessly for an hour and a half to surprise the young girl. 'Incredibly excited to be able to participate, take the time to do this and build this playset for Fallon,' StarKist head of marketing Michael Merritt said. Montgomery County officials visit businesses for 'National Small Business Week' Eric Newman founded the Roc Solid Foundation in 2009. He's built playsets for thousands of families across the country. 'Anytime that we can help a family forget about the chaos of cancer, we've done our job,' Newman said. Once the playset was finished, Fallon D'Aguiar was blindfolded and escorted to the backyard. She took off the blindfold, and a big smile appeared on her face. She wasted no time trying out her new playset. 'Anyone who has had a child that has cancer knows that your life changes drastically,' the young girl's mother, J'amie D'Aguiar, said. 'There are certain times where we can't go anywhere with her because her cell counts are so low. So, this is amazing because we can just pop out to our backyard and then have some fun.' Montgomery County police honors fallen officers with memorial service J'amie D'Aguiar calls the experience life-changing. 'This is a lot,' she said. 'I mean, I just can't even put the words together right now. I'm a little overwhelmed; more so thankful, appreciative. Just seeing the way that my children are reacting. I mean, they've been excited all week.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Virginia nonprofit builds playsets in Neptune Beach for kids fighting cancer
Ninety volunteers from around the country came to a hotel on the Atlantic-Neptune Beach border on Thursday to build two playsets in less than two hours for two families of two kids diagnosed with cancer. Those were a lot of numbers, but it all added up to a moment the helpers hope will last forever for these kids. 'It's unbelievable. It truly is one of those moments you will never forget,' said Amber Payne, one of the people who helped build the playsets at the One Ocean Resort. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Read: 'Sacrificed his life for the children': Army veteran drowns saving relatives off Fernandina Beach It was organized by the Roc Solid Foundation, a Virginia-based nonprofit that builds playsets around the U.S. for families of kids fighting cancer. They took each of the volunteers through the steps of building both playsets, which the kids who received them were later surprised with. 'It's the best tears in the world, the best tears in the world,' Payne said. 'There's not a dry eye, I mean it's like waterworks.' Action News Jax was there when the two families walked their kids out to see the new additions to their backyards. As the kids walked outside, all the volunteers were gathered to cheer them on as they climbed the ladders, swung on the swings and slid down the slides of the playsets for the first time. Read: FAA adding more airspace over Jacksonville just in time for summer travel They saw messages written onto the playsets by each of the volunteers, including Payne, who wrote, 'love, peace, happiness lives!' 'It was just so incredible and life-changing for me and for them,' said Payne. After the reveal of the playsets, the Roc Solid Foundation took them down to be delivered to the homes of each of the families, with the promise that they would be put back up again at each of their homes only a few hours later. Read: State park protection bill's fate uncertain after being amended in the Florida Senate [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
