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Blood drive is special for Mesa boy’s 4th birthday
TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF
Not many kids see blood drives held in their honor on their birthday, but the one coming up in Mesa this Tuesday is especially meaningful for little Mack “Macky” Porter and his parents and three older siblings.
Macky might not have been turning 4 on March 1 had it not been for the generosity of previous blood donors.
So as the Mesa family celebrates Macky’s birthday, they also are encouraging people to keep him in mind and sign up for the blood drive from noon-6 p.m., March 1 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Boulder Creek Stake, 3025 S. Hawes Road, Mesa. To make an appointment, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or go to redcrossblood.org and use sponsor code Mackystrong.
Macky’s story of survival dates back to December 2020, when “he started having strange symptoms,” according to his mom, Danielle Porter.
“We thought COVID or pneumonia,” she recalled. “He was having difficulty breathing. We went to many doctor appointments, and there was nothing screaming cancer. Blood work was fine. Macky had days where he felt terrific, and then he would have days where he felt terrible. He had random fevers but not every day. It was hard to pinpoint what was going on.”
Things got more serious Jan. 20, 2021, when she saw Macky waking up from his nap, struggling to breathe.
“We gave him a breathing treatment, and it didn’t seem to be helping,” Danielle said. “I took him to the ER, and while we were there, he had gotten a little better. He wasn’t breathing quite as strained anymore. They did a breathing treatment and agreed it was probably asthma. We had an upcoming allergist appointment.”
But as they were getting ready to leave, the physician assistant decided to do an X-ray.
“This sweet lady is doing the X-ray, and she’s kind of singing to him, and all of a sudden she gasped and said, ‘Oh no’ and ran out of the room,” said Danielle.
“The ER doctor came in but didn’t come up to me first. He went straight up to Macky, put his hand on his cheek, and said, ‘I’m so sorry you have to do this, buddy.’
“He was genuinely emotional. He looked at me and said, ‘Can you get your husband on FaceTime?’ At that point, I’m bawling. We got on FaceTime, and he told us there was an enormous mass in the middle of Macky’s chest and a tiny chance it was something else, but it was
seeMACKY page 19
Little Mack “Macky” Porter of Mesa might not have been turning 4 this Tuesday had it not been for the generosity of blood donors. Now, he’s hoping people will think of him on his birthday by giving blood
at a Mesa blood drive. (Special to the Tribune)
Mesa artist celebrates culture with mask festival
BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer
Zarco Guerrero made a career out of masks long before COVID-19.
Guerrero grew up in Mesa but has spent more than 20 years traveling the world – including Mexico, Japan and Indonesia – studying how various cultures use ornate masks.
On Sunday, March 6, he will bring his love for masks back to Pioneer Park for the fifth annual Mask Alive! Festival of Masks. The event, organized by Guerrero’s wife Carmen, will feature his son – singer and composer QVLN (Q-Violin) Quetzal Guerrero.
“All cultures in the world have used mask at one time for one thing or another,” Zarco said.
He explained that many cultures have used masks for primal purposes in combination with wearing animal hides to stealthily hunt because masks were believed to give hunters powers.
“The masking process gave them an extra power,” he said. “Like a supernatural power because the human disappears, and the animal appears.”
He said societies have also used masks for dance ceremonies, carnival celebrations and spiritual practices, but they’ve slowly disappeared from history.
Now, he’s looking to help people rediscover these traditions that span the globe. “I found out as a mask maker that a lot of these traditions still exist in our community,” he said. “We want to bring them to the forefront and celebrate the cultures that Mesa Artist Zarco Guerrero makes a mask for the upcoming festival practice them.” next weekend at Pioneer Park. (Josh Ortega/Tribune Staff) He said the festival helps to present these diverse traditions in a unique, multicultural celebration unlike any event he knows of in the country. Mexican masks initially influenced his art primarily due to his Chicano roots but most of his masks don’t have one specific culture that inspired them.
Instead he has taken inspiration from his travels across the world, especially his time in Kyoto, Japan, which he has visited more than a dozen times.
For more than 20 years, Guerrero performed with the Japanese Matsuri Festival in Phoenix and he said Japanese Taiko Drummers will perform at the March 6 festival.
He’s had a passion for percussion music for more than 30 years and will showcase his talents when he plays on his handcarved drums at the festival on traditional Aztec drums called huehuetls – upright tubular drums made of wood that stand on three legs cut from the base and open at the bottom.
His wife said what appeals to her the most, though, is “his ability to make the masks come alive and dance in public events.”
Carmen serves as the executive director of the Cultural Coalition, a nonprofit formed in 2000 to promote local artists. Zarco
Mesa woman slates golden retriever gathering
TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF
Mesa resident Renee Bellefeuille says golden retrievers are such friendly canines, they would enjoy meeting fellow goldens as much as their owners.
So between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, March 5, Bellefeuille will be hold her third annual Gathering of Goldens at Gene Autrey park, 4125 E. Mckellips Road, Mesa.
She’s encouraged by the growing popularity of her event, which last year attracted several dozen Golden Retrievers.
The event – featuring games and socializing – is free, but Bellefeuille is asking owners to bring squeaky toys and Martindale collars for donation to a dog-related charity.
“I think pairing charitable events with fun get-togethers is a great way to bring awareness to local organizations that do so much good,” she said, adding she has not yet decided what charity should receive the donated items.
Bellefeuille has high hopes for the event’s impact.
When she started the gathering in 2020, “My goal was to meet regularly for other outdoor activities which we could do with our dogs such as hiking, camping and going to dog friendly events and also just share training tips and ‘talk Golden.’” Unfortunately, COVID 19 hit right after (the 2020) event so this was not possible.”
Bellefeuille calls her golden retriever JayBee – which is short for his official name, JayBee Chapter 5, Life is Good. He’s about 6 years old and is her fifth golden.
“Golden Retrievers are such a great breed,” she said. “They love to socialize with people and other dogs. Since the event is at City of Mesa park and not a dog park, the dogs needed to be on leashes. However, I think the dogs and people attending still enjoyed themselves.”
Information: 602-793-9434. ■
MACKY from page 18
very likely cancer,” his mom related.
“Within 20 minutes, the oncology doctor was down and told us they suspected it was cancer. Both doctors were very compassionate, and even in COVID, they gave me big hugs. I cried on this oncologist’s shoulder because I was alone.”
Macky was admitted to the pediatric ICU and spent the next month in the hospital, starting at Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa and eventually transferring to Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
A biopsy was inconclusive on the type of cancer.
The National Institute of Health was contacted and doctors there diagnosed Macky with a rare form of lymphoma – stage 3 anaplastic large cell Lymphoma. A risky PET scan was needed to find where the cancer was located.
“A lot of hospitals didn’t want to accept him because he’d have to have general anesthesia, and it was too much of a risk,” explained Danielle. “He not only had this large tumor on his chest, but the scan revealed he also had cancer on his spine and both of his femurs. It was a tough day to find that out. We were hopeful it had not spread, but unfortunately, it had.”
Macky received six intense rounds of chemo, each one three weeks long.
“He required blood transfusions to help his body rebound and be healthy,” said Danielle. “Macky’s first one was after he had been in the hospital for one month and was going to his first clinic appointment after he had been discharged. The staff told me Macky wasn’t doing great, and they wanted to give him a blood transfusion.
“That was a surreal moment for me of gratitude,” she said. “Here’s this little boy who needs something immediately and it was there and ready for him because people had taken the time to donate; he was able to receive blood, and immediately his color changed. It made an immediate difference, and I could physically see the change in him. It just stuck with me how important that was.”
Blood donation became an essential cause for the family, especially after learning that blood products have become dangerously low. “We had our first blood drive last April, and it was rather emotional for me,” said Danielle. “I popped in throughout the day and saw people I love donating, lots of strangers donating.
“People from my neighborhood I never met were there and said, ‘I saw your post on our neighborhood page.’ I was just so grateful, and so many of them said they had never donated before, and they were glad I shared Macky’s story because it gave them a reason to want to donate.”
Danielle understands why people don’t donate blood.
“If there’s not something that pulls at your heartstrings, you don’t think about it,” she said. “I had never donated blood before. My husband’s a nurse. I know how important it is. I just never did it. I had never taken the time to do it. It was important to me for people to have some connection to how important it is.”
When Danielle and her husband were thinking about what they wanted to do for their son’s 4th birthday this year on March 1, they felt hosting a blood drive was an excellent way to honor their son and help with the blood shortage.
“It’s important to donate blood,” said Danielle. “It takes very little time. You might not think you’re needed, but you are. Every single person that donates is needed. If everybody else thinks everybody is doing it, that’s how we end up in this situation where we’re short of blood.”
In July 2021, the family received great news the cancer was in remission. “It’s kind of a difficult one for me because his tumor’s still present,” said Danielle. “He still has tumors in his body. They just don’t have cancer in them.” It’s also hard for the family to get their hopes up because they were told once before the cancer was in remission, but it wasn’t. They remain as optimistic as they can under the circumstances.
“When we got the scans back, and we were sitting in the office, my three older kids and my husband were sitting in the parking lot,” Danielle explained. “If Macky were in remission, they’d be allowed to come into the hospital for the first time. When the doctor said, ‘He’s in remission, he did it,’ I cried. It all becomes a blur at that point. I called my husband, and he cried. My kids came up.
“I have this beautiful video of Macky coming out of the clinic and running into his siblings’ arms,” said Danielle. “He’s proud and excited to have them in the hospital that he spent so much time alone in and to be able to show them a little bit of it. It was an unforgettable day for many reasons.” ■
MASKS from page 18
serves as the president and board chair.
The Guerreros have been married for more than 40 years and have three children, two of whom are not involved in the arts community at the moment.
They share a passion for serving their community that derives from their life growing up amid the 1960s civil rights marches and protests inspired by Cesar Chavez.
“We learned from that movement that as artists, our obligation is to serve our community,” he said.
Guerrero said the coalition wants to promote healthy, family-friendly options that the public can enjoy for free because both the venue at the parks and the culture and history they showcase belong to everyone as well.
“We’re entitled to know our history,” he said. “It’s the artists who dig it up, research it, find it and bring it into the public sphere.”
He said artists can help heal the community at a time when the everyone has suffered from the pandemic and a chaotic world.
“We want to use the culture, that rich cultural heritage that exists in our diverse community, to heal our community,” he said.
“To heal that pain of isolation from the pandemic, to heal ourselves of the anxiety that we’re plagued by living in this world as it is today.” ■
If You Go...
What: Mask Alive! Festival of Masks Where: Pioneer Park, 526 E. Main St., Mesa When: 12-5 p.m. March 6 Cost: Free Info: culturalcoalition.com Zarco Guerrero uses mask art to advocate
THE MESA TRIBUNE | FEBRUARY 27, 2022
Giving Machines yield over $900K in East Valley
BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer
East Valley residents donated over $900,000 to charities that will put food on the table, provide temporary shelter and supply school backpacks to the needy through the annual Giving Machines in Gilbert. Six local nonprofits received nearly $700,000 – A New Leaf, Arizona Brainfood, Catholic Charities Community Services Arizona, Child Crisis Arizona, St. Mary’s Food Bank and United Food Bank – in a ceremonial check presentation Feb. 22.
Gilbert is the only location in the state to host the vending machines, which allow people to pick items to donate to selected nondenominational charities. The remainder of the money donated in Gilbert goes to global charities.
The machines are part of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ larger Light The World initiative, which encourages people to perform instant acts of service that make a difference in others’ lives.
“Every cent of those donations made go to those nonprofits and not back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Mayor Brigette Peterson said. “The church goes above and beyond with providing these machines for regular people to be able to go out and be able to give back to nonprofits and being able to provide items to those in need whether it’s to a local charity here, a local nonprofit here within our local region that we can see and touch and feel on a regular basis or to a worldwide organization.
“And the effort they go to bring these machines to Gilbert and those other locations are amazing.”
Church Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt said the partnership with the Town has had a tremendous impact. The machines were Jonathan S. Schmitt, an elder with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is flanked by some of the recipients of donations generated by Giving Machines. (YouTube) put out from Nov. 29 to Jan. 3 at Water Tower Plaza downtown.
“We are grateful to you and the citizens here in the Town of Gilbert and across the East Valley and across the state,” said Schmitt, who also is the assistant vice president of Educational Outreach and Student Services for Arizona State University. “I worry sometimes that people may think a donation is nameless or faceless,” he said. “But it’s because of the staff, because of the volunteers of these local charities as these items are given to peo-
The Giving Machines enable donors to donate to various non-denominational charities. (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) ple, they become the face of love and they become the face of kindness to those who are the most vulnerable among us.
“So every meal, every backpack, every vaccination, everything that is done has a loving and a kind face to it. And in a time where these has been so much divisiveness and so much rancor I would just hope that we can continue not just during the month of December but all of the time to ensure that Gilbert always remains and retains that feeling of being Kindness USA, a place where we can have that loving kindness.”
Gilbert in 2019 adopted Kindness USA as its official moniker.
Altogether the Church raised over $5.8 million with its 10 machines in the country in 2021, which benefited 45 global and local charities.
“The dollars raised are criticalinmeeting the needs of families facing difficult challenges, but in addition to the donations raised by the Giving Machines, this campaign serves as a bonding experience bringing together so many parts of our community in acts of solidarity,” said Michael Hughes, New Leaf CEO in a released statement.
The 2021 Giving Machines were also placed in Denver, Colorado; Honolulu, Hawaii; Kansas City, Missouri, Las Vegas, Nevada; Nashville, Tennessee; New York, New York; Oakland, California; Orem, Utah and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Gilbert has been a host site of the machine since 2018. The machines were not put out in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Schmitt said there were 19,077 transactions with 28,546 items purchased from the Gilbert machines. Of the $900,000, $234,000 benefited global charities while $666,196 stayed local.
Schmitt gave the following breakdown of what the donations to the local charities will provide. (See box below.)
■ A New Leaf – $130,575:
• 580 veterans will receive hope and healing services • 778 individuals and families will receive new clothes • 95 families will receive a home-starter kit • 555 persons will receive personal care items • 2,005 children and others will receive a therapy toy • 339 children will be fed for one year • 1,830 children will be provided take-home meals for one month • 396 cases of beef jerky • 1,776 cases of macaroni and cheese • 1,740 cases of peanut butter
■ Catholic Charities – $118,950:
• 158 refugees will receive a bicycle • 256 individuals and families will receive food and shelter for one week • 136 families will receive counseling services • 685 youths will receive sports equipment • 243 individuals and families will receive a tent and other necessary camping supplies
■ Child Crisis – $133,535:
• 3,108 children will be assisted in various ways • 819 students will receive a backpack and school supplies • 398 children will receive vaccinations • 709 foster teens will receive counseling services • 1,061 foster children will receive new shoes • 121 children or families will receive one night of safe shelter
• 2,822 families will receive a box of fresh produce • 55,000 fixed-income seniors will be served with a meal • 704 families will be fed for one month • 979 families will receive a full-holiday meal • 1,953 children will receive a take-home meal
