Sam's Warriors

Thirteen-year-old patient leads fundraiser for his friends at CHKD

When Sam Sachs was hospitalized at CHKD for leukemia at age 11, he realized how fortunate he was to have his parents, Jenny and Matthew, with him all the time.

He met many children whose parents had to work or care for siblings at home. It bothered Sam to see children in the hospital without their parents because he knew how much he relied on his mom and dad for emotional support every day. Sam knew that when his cancer treatment was over, he wanted to find a way to help other families.

It didn’t take long. Less than six months after finishing treatment, Sam and his family have raised nearly $90,000 to help those who have a child in the hospital.

“I hope these funds will help when parents want to be in the hospital with their kids, but they’re facing obstacles,” Sam says. “It just makes treatment a little easier for everyone. I feel like if you don’t have someone there to cheer you on and go through it all with you, you kind of lose the will to fight.”

Sam’s battle with cancer began in October of 2020 when his parents noticed changes in their normally energetic, competitive tennis player. Sam seemed unusually tired. He had also lost weight. His pediatrician ordered bloodwork to see if it could offer any clues.

Just a few hours later, the Sachs family was on the way to the emergency department at CHKD where they

learned that Sam had T-cell leukemia and a mass in his lungs, close to his heart. He was immediately admitted to the hospital for treatment. A week later, to everyone’s relief, Sam’s mass was barely visible.

Over the next year, Sam returned to CHKD several more times for additional treatments. His desire and determination to help other families grew with each hospital stay.

To inspire people to give and to have fun while doing it, the Sachs family launched a website called SamsWarriors.org, which encourages people to donate and participate in a “pie face” video challenge where friends and family members push plates of whipped cream into each other’s faces.

Today, Sam is back in school and focused on getting stronger. The Sachs family says they are incredibly thankful for Sam’s recovery, the staff at CHKD, and everyone who has donated so far to Sam’s Warriors.

“It makes me feel really good,” Sam says. “I know I’m really helping people.”

WRITTEN BY Alice Warchol • PHOTOGRAPH BY Susan Lowe

As he continues to recover from his own cancer treatment, Sam proves philanthropy is fun and raises thousands for CHKD patients and their families.