How Buffalo Grove-based Forward4Tobi Foundation helps breast cancer patients

A young woman who died of metastatic breast cancer was the inspiration for the Forward4Tobi Foundation, a Buffalo Grove-based nonprofit that aims to lighten the financial load for breast cancer patients.

The foundation, established in 2013, has raised nearly $900,000 in just seven years.

We spoke to Rebecca Linscott of Arlington Heights, president of the organization, to learn more.

Q. When and why did the organization start? How has it grown?

A. The Forward4Tobi Foundation was established in 2013 to honor the memory of Tobi Lauren Klonecki, a special wife, mother and friend who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at the young age of 38.

With an initial Stage 4 diagnosis only occurring in less than 10% of breast cancer patients and no family history, this diagnosis was both shocking and devastating. During her four years living with breast cancer, Tobi continued to live life to the fullest with her husband and two young boys.

Over the years, Tobi met many women with the same diagnosis, but their lives were very different. We heard stories of how some of her “mets sisters” couldn't afford child care during or after their chemo treatments. Others struggled to pay their mortgage or buy their life-saving medications.

Even during her worst days, Tobi thought of herself as lucky, for she had the family, friends, and financial means to deal with the daily struggles of breast cancer. Tobi would have wanted her legacy to be about helping those who didn't have the means she had - to help bring out the normal in abnormal.

Tobi would have been first in line to pay it forward. With help, we can all pay it Forward4Tobi.

Q. What is your organization's mission, and how do you work toward your goals?

A. The Forward4Tobi Foundation helps makes the lives of breast cancer patients and their families a bit easier by assisting with financial burdens so they may focus their energy on recovery and living life.

Our focus is singular; to help breast cancer patients who are struggling financially live a better quality of life. The Forward4Tobi Foundation helps these patients by providing financial assistance for medical expenses, child care and other daily, unmet needs so they may focus all of their energy on fighting this insidious disease.

Our funding is raised through direct donations and by our supporters via various fundraising events. We do have people who choose to fundraise for the Forward4Tobi Foundation by completing marathons, half marathons, walks, or triathlons, etc., or others will raise money within an organized group to donate to Forward4Tobi.

We use all of the donations to fund patient grant funds. The foundation has grown in donors, grant recipients and partnerships with hospitals and breast cancer organizations.

Q. Who do you partner with, and how are the funds distributed to patients?

A. To ensure that Forward4Tobi provides financial assistance to patients that need it the most, we collaborate with medical centers to facilitate the application, evaluation, and distribution of money to the neediest of patients.

To date, we've established patient assistance “funds” at NorthShore University Health Systems in the Chicagoland area and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. We have also partnered with Living Beyond Breast Cancer in Philadelphia to provide travel grants to patients and caregivers to attend metastatic breast cancer conferences.

The reason we have chosen to partner with these organizations is because Tobi was originally diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at Dana-Farber in 2009 and received treatment there for two years. She did move back to the Chicago area with her family in 2011 and received her treatments from Northshore for two years.

She also attended several metastatic breast cancer conferences through LBBC and always felt she learned such helpful information about metastatic breast cancer. She met other metastatic breast cancer patients (her “mets sisters”) who provided wonderful support and friendships.

When she would return from those conferences, she felt grateful to have health insurance and the financial and personal support from family and friends.

Q. Describe your most recent fundraiser.

A. A group of Tobi's friends decided to honor Tobi on what would have been her 49th birthday - July 22 - by walking a marathon (26.2 miles). We started at 6:30 a.m. from the Daniel Wright Forest Preserve in Lake Forest and walked a few miles there. Then we headed north on the Des Plaines River Trail until we reached Independence Grove in Libertyville, had lunch and headed back to finish where we started. It took us 10 hours, with an hour lunch, but we did it! We are so grateful to all of the donors who helped us to raise $10,053, which exceeded our expectations.

Q. What kind of successes have you had?

A. There are incredible challenges that come with a breast cancer diagnosis, but navigating the pressures of facing breast cancer amid the concerns of COVID-19 brings additional difficulties for patients. With the onset of COVID-19, the financial devastation experienced by people with breast cancer has increased significantly.

Fortunately, the Forward4Tobi Foundation has been able to help more patients this year. This year, the Forward4Tobi Foundation partnered with Living Beyond Breast Cancer for a virtual metastatic breast cancer conference. Because the conference was virtual, instead of paying for travel grants, our $75,000 donation was used to provide grants directly to patients and their families for living expenses such as mortgage, rent, utilities, and transportation.

During this time of COVID-19, when breast cancer patients are in more need of financial help, we have also been able to partner with Dana Farber to create a $50,000 crisis fund for young mothers who have metastatic breast cancer and stage IV diagnosis.

Q. What challenges does the organization currently face?

A. We are always looking for new opportunities to grow awareness for the foundation as well as new opportunities to broaden our outreach to other locations/regions in order to help more metastatic breast cancer patients.

It is our ultimate goal to take away some of the financial burden for as many breast cancer patients and their families as possible. By making their lives a little bit easier, these patients can focus all of their energy on fighting this disease and living life.

Q. What do you wish the community at large knew about the organization?

A. The Forward4Tobi Foundation is an all volunteer run nonprofit, with 98% of every donation going directly to financially burdened breast cancer patients each year.

In a time where people have a lot of charities to choose from, we pride ourselves with having very little overhead costs so that 98% of donations go directly into the pockets of patients to ease the financial burden that often comes from living with breast cancer.

Forward4Tobi Foundation

What: A Buffalo Grove-based nonprofit offering financial support to breast cancer patients

How you can help: For details on how donate or create your own fundraiser, visit www.forward4tobi.org. Follow Forward4Tobi on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.