Knit For A Cure
July 30, 2015
Beyond Josh Hardy
August 5, 2015
The Max Cure Foundation is honored to announce that leading pediatric cancer advocate, Jonathan Eric Agin, JD, has accepted the position of Executive Director as of September 1, 2015.
Agin will be the first Executive Director for MCF which was formed in December, 2008, following the diagnosis of David’s son, Max Plotkin, with stage-4 cancer, on the eve of his fourth birthday. Max is now 12 years old and an 8-year survivor. MCF was formed with the mission to advance the cause of childhood cancer through funding research, assisting families and engaging in advocacy on behalf of children with cancer and their families.
“We are very pleased to have Jonathan as our Executive Director and I know that his passion, knowledge and first-hand experience as an advocate are exactly what we need to lead our Foundation into the future,” said Plotkin. “With Jonathan’s guidance I am confident that MCF can continue to raise much needed funds in the fight against pediatric cancer.”
Jonathan, a former trial lawyer, lost his daughter Alexis in 2011 to an inoperable brain tumor at the age of 4. Since her diagnosis in April 2008 he has been a leading advocate for pediatric cancer causes.
“Becoming the Executive Director of MCF provides me with the opportunity to build upon the amazing successes of an organization that has truly changed the lives of many children with cancer and their families,” said Jonathan. “MCF has been at the forefront of many of the pivotal issues that are facing children with cancer and through the direction of the Plotkins, and outspoken, skillful and relentless advocacy of Vice Chairman Richard Plotkin, is poised to make an even greater impact. I am beyond excited to build upon the amazing record of accomplishments that have been created over the past several years,” added Agin.
In addition to his role with MCF, Jonathan is actively involved in many areas of advocacy for pediatric cancer. He is the CKN Childhood Cancer Awareness and Advocacy Section Editor and frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and one of the founders of the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute, a non-profit childhood cancer research laboratory. Based in Washington, DC, he is an attorney, writer, speaker and one of the most recognized names in the childhood cancer community.
The Max Cure Foundation is a 501 (c ) (3) charity organization whose mission is threefold –
RESEARCH – MCF funds research to attempt to find a cure and to find less toxic treatments for children for the various forms of childhood cancers. The charity has contributed $1.2 million to research including over $870,000 to help fund an Immune Cell Therapy Lab at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE – In November 2011, MCF established its Roar Beyond Barriers program to provide financial assistance, in the form of gift cards, to low income and military families with a child battling cancer. Since it’s inception, MCF has assisted 78 families in 12 states being treated in 21 hospitals, with 48 families currently receiving assistance.
ADVOCACY – MCF is actively involved in advocating before Congress and the White House to increase government funding for childhood cancer research. MCF gained international attention through the orchestration of the “Save Josh” campaign. Ultimately, Josh Hardy was provided with a life-saving drug as a result of a relentless social media campaign led by MCF
