Maita Subaru and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Central Valley brighten the day for kids with cancer
Life was a little rough for 9-year-old Emmanuel “Manny” Goff, a cancer patient at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He had been traveling 165 miles from Redding for chemotherapy treatments. It is a tedious drive for a youngster, and the pediatric infusion room is often chilly.
That’s why upon arriving at the cancer center in the summer of 2024, he welcomed the gift of a soft, heart-shaped pillow that turns into a blanket. He responded with a huge smile when asked if it was cuddly.
As part of a national Subaru Loves to Care campaign, Maita Subaru of Sacramento automobile dealership joined with the Greater Sacramento Area Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) to donate 80 navy-blue plaid pillows to the cancer center. The center gave those pillows to pediatric cancer patients.
Manny was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2023 shortly before Thanksgiving.
“His only symptoms were swollen lymph glands and a runny nose,” his mother, Leslie Goff, said, as she watched her son at the center of attention during a TV news interview highlighting the pillow donation.
Maita Subaru and LLS have teamed up during the past nine years to collect toys, blankets, arts and crafts kits, and other items — all for young UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center patients.
Marcio Malogolowkin, chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, along with supportive oncology staff members, accepted the mound of donated pillow blankets.
“This tells us that we are not alone,” Malogolowkin said. “Our patients and their families have a hard job as they go through treatment, but knowing they have this kind of support makes this unpredictable journey much easier on them and on us.”
It’s important to brighten the day of childhood leukemia patients, said Amy Pine, campaign development specialist with LLS – Central Valley.
“It is hard to be in a cold infusion room. We think these pillow blankets will give them something warm to sit with, which we hope will make their day.”
Pine said LLS and Subaru have donated 350,000 items nationwide to patients being treated for blood cancers. It is part of what they call “messages of hope” for people battling cancer.
“Partnering with LLS and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center means so much to Maita Subaru,” said Levi Whittaker, who is the “love promise champion” at Maita Subaru. “We know the kids here are going through so much, and this is very near and dear to us.”
