WELCOME

In August of 2011 we participated in Washington State's Combined Fund Drive (CFD) motorcycle charity ride in Thurston County.

Visit CFD 's website for more information.

OURFRIENDFRANCIS is founded in honor of our friend, Francis Salanoa, and is a recognized charity with the state of Washington and the Internal Revenue Service. Francis' dream was to build this charity so that as other leukemia and breast cancer patients and families need help, we can be of assistance. We want to make people’s lives easier so that finances aren’t a worry during such a difficult time.

*If you feel moved to make a donation, click the PayPal donate now button to the left, or send us an email.

About

About our friend, Francis

Francis Moe Salanoa previously served in the Marine Corps for nine years and has worked at Maple Lane School as a Security Officer for the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration and for the State of Washington for the past eight years. Francis is 35 years young, is a member of WFSE union and lives an active life style enjoying hunting, hiking, camping, golf, basketball (especially the Lakers), football, racquetball and motorcycles. For a couple of months, he thought he had a cold that he just couldnt beat. Francis reached a new and unexpected phase in his life. On Monday, June 2nd, 2008 Francis found out he had Acute Leukemia. He received a bone marrow transplant on October 28, 2008. Francis had donated blood at Maple Lanes blood drives through the Puget Sound Blood Center many times and then was in receipt of the benefits of all the generous blood donors. Francis has five young children who spent a lot of time at the hospital with their dad and between his family, friends and co-workers; he has a lot of support. Not only was he is a very valuable asset to the security team at Maple Lane School, but the surrounding communities as Francis volunteered his time to help flood victims in 2007, donated to charity monthly, was involved with the Combined Fund Drive and cut his hair and donated it to Locks of Love prior to losing it to chemo therapy. When Francis learned that his friends created a charity in his honor, he was very excited to see how much support came to follow and wanted to see the charity grow and help many people. He and his family were very grateful to have so much support and want to help others in need. We would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers on his behalf. Letter from Francis, December 12th 2008Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all! Its the giving season and I am blessed to be givin a second chance at life. This journey has been tough both mentally and physically. The support has been tremendous and has helped keep me focused on my treatment and rehab. I am feelin better as the days more forward, hoping to be home in early 2009. I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Your endless and caring support has made this holiday season special for me! Thanks to so many of you.much love, Francis Letter from Francis, August 25 2008:First and foremost I would like to thank everybody for all there support and prayers! Its amazing what everyone is doing to help me and my family through these diffcult times.I am grateful and blessed for such wonderful friends, THANK YOU!Well, I am currently at the UW medical center in Seattle. I just finished my third round of chemotherapy this past friday. The treatment........well lets just say it was treatment! I have been described by my family as a lab rat! Today I started another treatment of chemo for cancer cells in my spinal fluid. UW Doctors detected cancer cells in my spinal fluid shortly after my arrival. The good news is..........twice a week I get to have long needles stuck into my spinal thru my back for treatment, ha ha ha.Besides the needles, I am in good spirits! I will be starting my Bone Marrow transplant work up this September for a transplant on Oct 28th. October looks to be a busy month with lots and lots of testing and treatment leading up to the transplant.I will try and keep everyone updated on things as best I can.Everyone's support has help make this fight promising and heart felt!Your brother, FrancisFRANCIS' Fight against LeukemiaIt is with a heavy heart we announce that Francis passed away May 27, 2009. We know that he is at peace now. A funeral was held to honor Francis on June 2, 2009 in Lakewood. Please check the website for more information, or email with questions. www.ourfriendfrancis.comFor those of you that did not have the pleasure of knowing this amazing man please take a minute to appreciate all that he stands for.Francis Moe Salanoa was born February 1, 1973 in American Samoa. On the morning of May 27, 2009, Francis lost his year-long battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), but won the war in reuniting with his beloved mother and in going home to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Francis graduated from Lakes HS, class of 1991. He served in the United States Marine Corp from 1991 through 2000. His tours included Somalia Operation Deliverance, part of the American-initiated Operation Restore Hope for which he received numerous decorations for valor. Francis greatly enjoyed working with the Juveniles at Maple Lane School. He only stopped working when diagnosed with AML on June 2, 2008 upon physician advisement. Francis loved spending time with his family, and cheating at playing cards with his grandmother. Sometimes described as a Renaissance Man, he loved life and lived it with great enthusiasm, and charisma. He loved hunting, various sports (Go Cowboys!), and mountain climbing.Between his family, friends and co-workers; he was always surrounded with love and support. He was not only a very valuable asset to the security team at Maple Lane School, but the surrounding communities. Francis volunteered his time to help flood victims last year, donated to charity, was involved with the Combined Fund Drive and cut his hair and donated it to Locks of Love prior to losing it to chemo.There are no words to express the sadness that fills our hearts during this unthinkable time. If you would like to get involved and help Franciss family and many others with the fight against Leukemia please visit www.ourfriendfrancis.com for more information. 5/21/09:Francis is no longer in remission and hasnt been in remission since just before leaving Seattle. As of Saturday May 16th Francis' doctor said his leukemia cells have gone from less than 1% of bone marrow a few months ago to about 10%. They took him off all medications that suppress his immune system in hopes his new immune system would attack and kill cancer cells. Saturday night, Francis was admitted to the hospital due to a fever. Doctors thought it was graft vs. host disease from stopping the immune suppression. It acts like an infection and likely caused the fevers. As of Monday, May 19th Francis' leukemia continues to progress very quickly. Unfortunately doctors have discharged Francis and he is peacefully at home with his family and friends. At this point, more chemo would only make Francis sicker and not be beneficial. Everyones tremendous support means so much to him. Francis has been through and is still going through a lot with treatment, being sick, his left hand is numbyet he is still always smiling and happy. He is always upbeat and hopeful. The support and love everyone has shown him really makes an impact, greater than any of you can ever see. You all help keep his spirits up and all of the cards and messages he gets make him smile so much. 3/10/09: Bone marrow final results show no evidence of leukemia and he is in remission. J Francis is doing well and making progress. Still being treated in Seattle for an undetermined amount of time while they continue to monitor his recovery.*Final bone marrow report shows remission. No evidence of disease! Doctors will do another bone marrow test next week to confirm test results, but they are not concerned at this point. This is good news! They will at some point give him more chemo, just as a precautionary measure to keep the disease in remission once his bone marrow has recovered.* 2/18/09 - Francis is in the hospital with an infection. Hell be there a few days until they get the bacteria identified and get him better.*Francis is having some unexpected complications and isn't able to return home the end of this month as was expected. Instead he has to spend a lot more time in Seattle.Francis has been so blessed from those state employees who have donated their leave time to him and it has helped tremendously! *Francis has had a cold within the past couple of months and he is currently having some complications, which requires him to be closely monitored, more tests and even more drugs. He is staying strong and keeping up the fight. The doctors will do more tests in a couple of weeks to reassess the situation. We received an anonymous donation through the mail last week and we would like to say, thank you. Everyones continued support is so amazing and is not only helpful financially, but encouraging to know that so many people care and want to help. OURFRIENDFRANCIS is an official charity through the state of WA and our application to the Washington State Combined Fund Drive will be reviewed at their next meeting in March. Until then, you can continue to donate through the CFD by setting up a payroll deduction or make a one time donation to OURFRIENDFRANCIS. You can search for our charity number on the CFD website, or email us and well send it to you. Thank you to all of you who have donated to us through the Combined Fund Drive. *Tuesday, December 16th Francis had his physical therapy consult. The doctor was amazed at his progress and his physical condition and said that most people on the steroids he is on cannot do what he can do because it causes muscle wasting. But not Francis, he is progressing really well and his heart rate during the exercises was really good!*Friday, December 5th Francis received the results from his bone marrow biopsy. The marrow came back clean, showing no evidence of leukemia!!!! *On November 24th after only 28 days in the hospital, Francis finally gets to leave! Francis is doing well. They will schedule a bone marrow biopsy to check his new marrow this week. He is so happy to be out of that place!

Katie

About our friend, Katie

hi, my name's katie godbey!i'm currently 4 years old, but i'll be 5 on july 21st :)i ♥ my mommy, daddy & two sisters: ashley & haleyi watch hannah montana on a daily basis, & love it!i also love to play with all of my friendsi'm a soccer player, i dance, & i can't wait to start t-ball!*UPDATE- July 8th, 2009 Katie made it out of surgery and is anxious to come home tomorrow. She has a little port for medicine and more chemo but should be home tomorrow! *UPDATE- June 9th, 2009 Guess what everybody… KATIE WOKE UP! She's finally breathing on her own, & awake. She still can't exactly talk, but she's getting there. Her left lung is out of shape and a little collapsed, but once that is doing better, she'll be yelling at us again!! On May 29th, 2009, Katie was airlifted to Mary Bridge hospital in Tacoma. After they arrived, she was automatically diagnosed with T-CELL leukemia, (cancer in the bone marrow). With a cat-scan, the oncologist stated that Katie had the largest tumor they have ever seen. She has gone through radiation and constant chemo. Katie is still not breathing on her own; but is FINALLY stable. After a long week of no sleep or good news, we are starting to see some improvements. Surely you know that Katie is a stubborn girl, & usually always gets what she wants somehow, we're confident she'll be coming home soon. Thank you so much for all of your love & support! :)Bracelets and T-Shirts are available! Please send us an email if you are interested, we can let you know how to get them! *If you feel moved to make donations, they can be made any one of the following ways:1. Make a deposit at any Key Bank location to ourfriendfrancis.com2. Send payment via paypal to contact_ourfriendfrancis.com 3. Send a check made payable to ourfriendfrancis.com to: 4742 181st LN SW, Rochester, WA 985314. Or email support_ourfriendfrancis.com to make arrangements to make a donation in person.Please continue to pray for Katie and her family.

Events

Auction
Hopefest
Other Events

Auction Senior Project Benefit AuctionThe dinner auction on April 17th at Centralia Eagles, sponsored by McCann Construction was a great fundraiser for both Darrin Canfield, a Centralia School teacher (www.darrincanfieldbenefit.com) and Katie Godbey, 5 year old girl from Adna, WA. Please visit their pages for more information about them. Shelby Harmon, a highschool senior at Adna Highschool in Adna, WA decided to express her passion for volunteering and put on a benefit dinner auction for her senior project. Ourfriendfrancis sponsored this event along with McCann ConstructionDinner AuctionApril 17, 2010 Centralia Eagles 2308 N. Pearl St.Centralia, WAThank you to everyone that helped in this event!
No Frame

Hopefest What is Hope Fest?Hope Fest is an outdoor benefit concert that was held September 20th, 2008 to help our friend Francis in his battle with Leukemia. It included music from Nowhere Lane, Norm Lynn, Numbskulz, 9 Lives Under, Pushing Daisies, Kathy Hudson and Noah Gundersen. We hope to have Hope Fest again next year with Francis there to help put it on and raise money for someone else in need.Why Hope Fest?Francis decided on the name Hope Fest. Hopefully this will be the first annual Hope Fest and each year we will donate money to help others in need.Thank you to the Puget Sound Blood Center that gave 17 people the opportunity to sign up for the National Bone Marrow Registry. If you have questions, please visit www.psbc.org or www.marrow.org or email us.Thank you to our sponsors:LIVE 95, DEVAUL PUBLISHING INC., ALDERSON’S AWARD’S WEST, THE SHIRE, THE EAGLE’S CLUB, McCANN CONSTRUCTION, PUGET SOUND BLOOD CENTER, TYLER RENTALS, RENTALS ETC., THE PRINT SHOP, THE HOME DEPOT, LeMAY’S INC., BUDWEISER, WASHINGTON FEDERATION of STATE EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 862, RENT-A-CENTER, COSTCO, FRANZ BAKERY OUTLET, SHOP N KART, GROCERY OUTLET, PAPA RAYS, COUNTRY COUSINS, JAMMERS FAMILY RESTAURANT, SENTRY MARKET, CHRISTIAN CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, MORTON MEAT COMPANY, NAPAVINE McDONALD’S, SAFEWAY, VERN & LAURA CHRISTIAN, MT. ADAMS CAFÉ, KIT CARSON RESTAURANT , KENNY CORETHANKS FOR THE SUPPORT FROM:DENNIS HARMON, MIKE RITTER, BARRETT PARKS, DENNY MURRAY, ROB SMITH, BOB SOTELO, FRIENDS & FAMILY

Other Events * We recently were able to help another victim of cancer. Your continued generous donations allowed us to give another patient some hope, and more importantly his medicine. Thank you. * Maple Lane is holding it’s annual silent auction for the Combined Fund Drive. It is deciding which charity to donate the funds raised through a vote. Make your vote or OURFRIENDFRANCIS by putting it on the list the day of the auction. If you have questions, call Dennis or send an email.* Everyone’s continued support is so amazing and is not only helpful financially, but encouraging knowing that so many people care and want to help. * Our application to the Washington State Combined Fund Drive is approved and we are now able to receive payroll deductions. You can search for our charity number on the CFD website, or email us and we’ll send it to you. Thank you to all of you who have donated to us through the Combined Fund Drive. * Thank you to Ms. Rivas 2nd grade class from Lakes Elementary for their generous fundraising and donation to OURFRIENDFRANCIS, in memory of Francis Salanoa. Your hard work is greatly appreciated and will go toward helping patients and families in need.* Thank you to everyone who came to our POKER TOURNAMENT to benefit Katie Godbey and support OURFRIENDFRANCIS on June 27, 2009 at The Eagles in Centralia. Click HERE to view the flyer. Thank you also to the Eagles for their continued support.* POKER TOURNAMENT Saturday March 14th at Centralia Eagles was a lot of fun and as always, a successful fundraiser. The top 3 winners got paid! * Anyone who works for the state of WA and has extra leave time laying around and you don't plan on using it, i.e. personal holiday, vacation or sick leave, please donate it to someone who needs it. There are many employees listed on the WFSE website, or in the newsletter that is mailed out. Many of you lost your personal holiday last year because you did not use it. Well you might as well donate it! * Little Big Man _ O’Blarney’s Irish Pub was a great success. Thank you to Little Big Man for the $500 donation and to O’Blarney’s for matching it! Thanks to everyone who came out to support Francis, it was a lot of fun.* The car wash at Les Schwab in Centraliawas a huge success! Thank you for everyone who came out to help and make donations! All of your loving donations came to over $1800 for Francis. This is the first of many fundraisers, so check back!* Maple Lane'’s blood drive in honor of Francis was a huge success! There were 42 people signed up at the Bloodmobile on June 25th. This is a NEW record for MLS!! Of the 42 people registered at the Bloodmobile, 6 were 1st time donors! There were 3 people who donated at a Blood Center, but are registered under our number. They count for us! THE GRAND TOTAL FOR YESTERDAY WAS 45 donors!!!!! There were 7 people who did the procedure to be on the National Bone Marrow Registry.* Please check back for more ways to help show your support. Things are being planned!

Support OURFRIENDFRANCIS is recognized as a 501c3 charity. Our application to the Washington State Combined Fund Drive is approved and we are able to receive payroll deductions. You can search for our charity number on the CFD website, or email us and well send it to you. Thank you to all of you who have donated to us and the charities through the Combined Fund Drive. National Bone Marrow Registry17 people joined the Bone Marrow registry at Hope Fest!! All you need to do is fill out some background information, provide ways to contact you and get a few swabs of the inside of your cheek with a q-tip. Its that simple. If you have questions, please visit www.psbc.org or www.marrow.org or email us.·····If you are in the position to donate to help OURFRIENDFRANCIS, it is greatly appreciated by many! You can make a deposit at any Key Bank (click for locations) to ourfriendfrancis.com or through Paypal·····Bracelets are here! They are orange, which is the color of leukemia awareness and WWW.OURFRIENDFRANCIS.COM is debossed on them written in COWBOY lettering, Francis favorite football team. ·····The Centralia Eagles Club has been a huge help with fundraising. Please help support your local EAGLES.Mon: $1 burgers 5pm-8pmWed: 75¢ tacos 6pm 8pmFri: $7 Cooks Choice DinnerSat: $6 All U Can Eat Breakfast 7am-11amSat: Steak & Chicken 6pm-8pm2308 N Pearl St. Centralia, WA 98531·····The car wash at Les Schwab in Centraliawas a huge success! Thank you for everyone who came out to help and make donations! All of your loving donations came to over $1800 for Francis. This is the first of many fundraisers, so check back!·····DONATE TODAY-SAVE LIVES! Anyone who is in good health, is at least 18 years old (persons 16 or 17 years old may donate with a Blood Program consent form signed by a legal guardian), and weighs at least 110 pounds may donate blood every 56 days. Nearly 900 people must donate blood through Puget Sound Blood Center every day to meet the needs of local patients. And your donation is critical in helping the community maintain a stable blood supply for emergencies.Blood is needed every day. Right now, there are people in your community who need the help you can so easily provide simply by donating blood. Some of these patients have suffered serious injuries or severe burns. Some need blood during surgery. Others have life-threatening chronic diseases like leukemia and cancer that require frequent transfusions. In fact, most people will require a blood transfusion at some point in their lives. You can help those who need one now. You really can save a life. Imagine! ·····REGISTER TO DONATE MARROWEach year, thousands of patients with leukemia or other potentially fatal diseases need marrow or blood stem cell transplants to survive. Many of these people will search the National Marrow Donor Program Registry for a genetically matched donor.You can join the registry through Puget Sound Blood Center by submitting a completed application and giving a simple cheek swab for tissue typing. To give all patients an equal chance of finding a donor, people of diverse ethnic backgrounds are specifically encouraged to join. Call 1-800-DONATE-1, ext.1897, for more information.Register to donate marrow, see if you are a match for someone in need! ·····Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.Locks of Love Mission StatementOur mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.·····Fundraisers are being planned. If you have ideas, time or something to donate let us know. ·····Check back for updates!!!

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contact_ourfriendfrancis.com

support_ourfriendfrancis.com

4742 181st LN SW

Rochester, Washington

98579

Phone: 360 789 8901

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