Janelle’s Journey Memorial Fund

The "˜Janelle's Journey Memorial Fund' has been created to allow the Williams family to give Janelle the best send-off possible.

As you all know, before Janelle began her journey she had taken on the character of an athlete. She was training for a marathon to save her life; and Deric had become her coach.It was as if she was training to beat her own best personal time yet just as happy and blessed to have been given the challenge to train for such a monumental event.Even though she crossed the finish line as a champion, she didn't quite place where she would have liked.

Typical of Janelle, she didn't give up being, what some might name, "an athlete-of-life". Instead, she shined bright as ever and created a journey that can be used as a road map for other athletes, should they find themselves in the same marathon of life.Personally, I can't think of anything braver than the Williams family allowing so many of us to not only follow but actually participate in their journey.

With that said, this fund has been created to provide some sort of ease for the Williams family from the financial burden of past out-of-pocket medical expenses and current memorial arrangements. I'm not sure how many of you know this but Deric took leave from work, through FMLA, in April to stay home and care for Janelle.Unfortunately, family members do not earn income while out on leave and this can create a great deal of stress for the family in addition to the loss of their loved one.

Even though the family has been through so much they are dedicated to reciprocate to the one foundation that assisted them when their own resources were not only significantly reduced but limited.By doing this they hope to ease the financial and emotional burden for another family during their journey.

The Williams family has committed to donate ten percent of the funds raised on this site to go directly to "˜The Karla J. Williams Foundation'.This foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to better the life of female cancer patients while they are undergoing treatment and to increase public awareness about the prevention, detection and treatment of women's cancers.

Their mission includes connecting patients in Northern California to available resources and clinical trials.Most helpful are the support services that include housekeeping, grocery shopping, transportation to appointments and treatments, day care services, meals for the patient and their families, and other daily routine tasks in order to make their fight with cancer a little less challenging.

In support of breast cancer awareness month and in lieu of flowers for Janelle's service please consider donating whatever you feel you can afford to assist the Williams family through this difficult time.

*This site has been reviewed and approved by the Williams Family

Should anyone have questions please feel free to contact me