Medical Relief

When Ezra Matthews passed away of neuroblastoma cancer at the age of two and a half, Haring wrote a beautiful song, “Song for Ezra,” as a tribute to him.  Each year about 800 children are diagnosed with neuroblastoma in the United States with 90 percent younger than five.  It is the most common cancer found in children ages 1-2 years old. The lyrics for Ezra's song express sorrow for his loss of life, while celebrating his new life in heaven: "We held you close, filled our hearts with your smile, though now is the time, for a gentle good-bye. We will see you again,  God knows it's true, time is so precious, we learned that from you. There's an ache in our hearts, don't want to let you go, but the angels are calling, calling you home... Free to sing, free to dance. Free to dream, dream in the night. Free to laugh, free to play. Free to walk in the light of the day."

 

The Haring Valdeos Foundation donated 100 percent of the sales of "Song for Ezra" to Beat Nb! (Beat Neuroblastoma!), co-founded by Ezra's parents, Kyle & Robin Matthews. "Song for Ezra" appeared on their 2019 World Nation children’s album, “School of Fish,” which featured the Sue Sue Sisters and the World Nation Children's Choir. The album is a collection of upbeat, fun originals like "I Just Wanna Hold a Piglet," "Caught Me in Rollers," "Cockadoodle Doo Doo," "Pouty Face," “My Little One,” and "Happy Birthday Mooey" – as well as a Kermit classic, "Rainbow Connection," a medley of "Heal the World & We Are the World," and an original environmental support song, "School of Fish: Save Our Earth, Our Home." During the first month of the album’s release in 2019, the group raised $1,000 in CD sales to Beat Nb!

Meanwhile in California, little Christopher Gibney fought neuroblastoma for 11 months before he passed away just three weeks before his third birthday. His father wrote that his personal journey of mourning and grief found expression in his musical work, “Voice of the Ancestors,” knowing that Christopher was now among the ancestors. The album was dedicated to Christopher. His parents, Quynh and Grayhawk David Gibney, created the Christopher Gibney Foundation to support music education and increase awareness of neuroblastoma.