Ill children and their families under extra pressure in the face of coronavirus

COVID-19 has shaken family life to its core, but when a seriously ill child is thrown in the mix, the difficulty meter rises exponentially.

Karen Lefave is the mother of twin kindergarten-age children. One has a serious heart condition and requires special care.

“It’s extra sensitive to us,” she said when talking about the dangers of coronavirus to those with weakened immune systems. “So that’s a little terrifying.”

“We’re just taking extra caution. That’s all we can do. Pretend that it’s everywhere and that everyone has it and act accordingly.”

She and husband Greg work as managers of Superior Chrysler-Dodge, Superior Nissan and Thrifty Car Rental. Their children are currently schooled at home because of the virus situation. On top of work and family duties, the Lefaves remain very engaged with their community mission of love - The Twinkie Foundation.

Lefave had a difficult pregnancy in 2014. Her newborn twins faced serious health issues. One was placed into the NICU at Mt. Sinai and the other was at SickKids. Inspired by these challenges, the Lefaves established a charity designed to help other families in similar situations. It provides financial assistance for food, accommodations, travel, and other incidentals that are incurred on medical trips so that families can focus on their children and not fret over financial obligations.

The Twinkie Foundation was born in 2017. It got the name from the term Greg uses to describe his twins. Fundraising and publicity have gone exceedingly well, but Karen Lefave said there are still many who do not know the organization exists.

That’s starting to change.

“It’s been a very busy six months prior to COVID-19 happening,” said Lefave. “The momentum and the exposure for the foundation has been more than we’ve ever seen.”

Thanks to community and business fundraising, such as the Tim Hortons Smile Cookie Campaign, the charity’s board recently approved an increase to the limit given to families from $2,000 per year to $4,000.

Last year, approximately 70 families were helped by the foundation.

This year, Lefave said the foundation was on track to get more than 200 applications, but COVID-19 has changed the medical plans of many families. Numerous appointments, referrals and follow-ups have been postponed. However, as the travel needs eventually ramp up, the foundation will be ready to help.

Successful fundraising and being a volunteer-run organization with no overhead keeps The Twinkie Foundation in good shape.

Regardless, COVID-19 still has an impact on Twinkie fundraising and the efforts of all local charities.

“We only do one self-organized fundraiser throughout the year and that’s our pancake breakfast. That was supposed to be April 26. We cancelled that in mid-March,” said Lefave.

The pancake fundraiser is not a make-or-break event for the foundation. Lefave said a major portion of the donations come from businesses, which will also be affected.

These days “we’re not their number one priority, nor should we be,” she said.

A number of charity events in support of the Twinkie Foundation were scheduled for the summer, including a barbecue, Steelworkers golf tournament and fundraising run. It’s doubtful if any of these will go ahead.

Lefave says the community will have to stayed tuned for information on the pancake fundraiser which was supposed to be only a few days away. “We’re looking to redo it in the fall, if we can,” she said. “I don’t think anyone can predict what’s going to happen.”