Live Like Mel Foundation's Mission

Live Like Mel Foundation's Mission

We empower educators and support individuals and families impacted by glioblastoma brain cancer.

The Live Like Mel Foundation is a non-profit organization that continues the legacy of former Ohio educator, Melanie B. Sutter, who passed away February 2019, from glioblastoma brain cancer.

The purpose of The Live Like Mel Foundation is twofold:

Empower Educators

To support the field of education by recognizing and providing financial assistance to future and current educators.

 

Provide Glioblastoma Resources

To support individuals and families impacted by glioblastoma by providing educational information and resources.

We Are Guided by The Following Principles:

To Give

Melanie gave selflessly. We give back to help others achieve great success as well as provide comfort and peace of mind during challenging life moments.

To Love

Melanie loved unconditionally. We appreciate everything we have without judgment. We share our love and appreciation during each moment.

To Live

Melanie lived each moment to the fullest. Life is the sum of all the moments that we experience. We will live like Mel did every day.

Scholarship

Melanie was an elementary school teacher for nearly 30 years. Her passion was to help young people become the best they can at life. She wanted to see every student succeed no matter what type of background they came from. However, her career start was nontraditional. After high school, Melanie married and stayed at home to raise her two children. It wasn’t until her children were in school before she decided to go back and earn her first teaching degree at Defiance College. She went on to earn her Master’s degree in education at Defiance College, a first in her family.

The Live Like Mel Foundation was created in part to continue Melanie’s legacy and offer annual awards to future and current educators. It is our goal to offer at least two types of awards each year.

 

 

Educator Grants

High School Student Scholarship

College Student Scholarship

Resources

Melanie was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme in December 2018 and passed two months following her diagnosis. She never had the opportunity to retire or watch her grandchildren grow up. Unfortunately, this type of aggressive brain cancer is highly undetectable until the tumor has grown to a fatal size. The dire news recieved by the patient and the family is nearly impossible to comprehend. And during this highly emotional time, learning about this form of cancer and managing the life decisions that need to be made quickly becomes overwhelming. Melanie’s family spent over 200 hours of research to understand all of the options available. From standard treatment to diet to supplements to exercise to nonstandard forms of treatment, very wide ranges of options exist for each distinct situation. And unfortunately, doctors are not qualified to help with each option. They are only trained to discuss the topic in their field.

We have learned that most families spend countless hours and energy trying to learn as much as they can to help their loved one. And we have realized that we must come together to combine our energies to help each other. The Live Like Mel Foundation would like to help. We are in the process of creating resources to quickly assist families with each decision they will need to make. We will not be recommending treatment, but we will provide an exhaustive list of options to consider to discuss with their medical teams.

At this time we are still working on pulling together the team and resources for this helpful booklet. If you would like to be part of this team, please contact Cory at cory@livelikemel.org. Feel free to subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page to receive future updates

We envision all teachers providing the highest quality education to future leaders of tomorrow free of bureaucratic barriers and unneeded pressures created in the work environment

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