Elisa, 36, an aspiring actress and broker at Corcoran, is battling stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, while her husband Nathan, 38, a painter and educator at Parsons, is fighting stage 3 rectal cancer. Together more than six years, they live in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn with their daughter, Sadie. As the Bonds' very frank blog explains, the road ahead of them is long and complicated. Elisa will undergo multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and Nathan has chemo, radiation and surgery in his future—all while raising Sadie. And even though they both have health insurance, the out-of-pocket costs are staggering.

Their story has quickly spread around the country, and their family and friends have rallied behind them, creating a Facebook page and organizing events to raise money for their expensive treatments. 

A big benefit for the Bonds is going to be held on Friday, May 19 at the Prospect Park Picnic House. Tickets cost $200 and include food, drinks, dancing and an auction featuring backstage passes to a Sheryl Crow concert, trips to the Caribbean and New Mexico, and other cool items. The organizers hope to raise $50,000, with all proceeds going directly to Elisa and Nathan. Click here for more info or to buy tickets. Of course, you can also make a monetary donation of any amount to a trust established to help them pay their medical bills.

The Witts are another New York family with a heartbreaking story. In February, 2007, their then 2½-year-old Liam was diagnosed with a type of cancer called Neuroblastoma. When his parents learned that there was little funding to fight his particular disease, his mother, Gretchen, decided to hold a bake sale. With the help of 250 volunteers, she baked 96,000 cookies and raised $400,000. A year later, she launched her nonprofit, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, an organization that sells cookies and helps facilitate bake sales to raise money for pediatric cancer.

Sadly, Liam passed away in January. This May, he would have turned 7. To honor his birthday, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is asking people to hold bake sales in his memory. Glad (yes, the folks behind the plastic bags) has vowed to match up to $225,000 of the funds raised. All of the proceeds will go to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

Organizing a bake sale is fun and easy, and it's a great way to get your kids involved in an important cause. The children’s play space appleseeds and Liam’s former preschool, the Chelsea Day School, hope to host the biggest bake sale of all on Liam's birthday. Cookies will be sold at both locations, as well as the nearby Flatiron building, on Friday, May 13.

A related event: On Monday, May 23, Tracey Stewart, the owner of kid-friendly cafe and art space Moomah in Tribeca, and Jessica Shyba, the blogger behind Momma's Gone City, are teaming up for a Cookies for Kids’ Cancer benefit. Tickets are $35, and every guest will be automatically entered in a raffle to win prizes from Maclaren, Oeuf, Britax and more. Only 45 spots are available, so buy your tickets now if you want to attend.

No, none of these events will magically make cancer disappear, but they do help fellow NYC families in need. They also make us feel like we're helping to make a difference.

Photo by Betsy Marie