The Frances Foundation celebrates 20 years of bringing smiles to those battling childhood cancer

By:  | September 27, 2024 |  Philanthropy | 

By Emma Sylvia

When first stepping into Robert Heugle’s office, one might remark on the plethora of awards gifted to the President and Executive Director of The Frances Foundation over the past two decades. There are plenty, from the foundation’s founding to assorted humanitarian awards bestowed to him for years of hard work. Heugle, who goes by Bob, is not nearly as interested in the stories behind those, however. Instead, he focuses on the many photos that decorate the office. Behind each one is a child with a smile because of The Frances Foundation, and Heugle remembers them all. 

The Beginning

When asked to tell us a bit about himself, Heugle instead says, “I’m not gonna so much focus on me; I’m gonna focus on The Frances Foundation.” He cannot understate the importance of how the foundation came to fruition. The foundation’s inception goes all the way back to Heugle’s childhood and his mother, Frances. Frances was constantly getting involved in community-centered activities, like being the den mother for the Cub Scouts.

“Kids loved her; she loved kids,” Heugle elaborates. Sadly, in the fall of 1999, Frances was diagnosed with colon cancer, with the cancer being discovered too late to be operated on. She passed on March 5, 2000. Despite the tragedy, Heugle got to work. “I was asked to organize a team for the American Cancer Organization Relay for Life,” he explains. “I did it in honor of my mother.” 

Heugle explains that he sent out a letter to friends and family asking them to donate, and right away, they got back $80,000. “Wow,” he says with a laugh. “It was such a ‘wow’ moment.” With such an obvious success, Heugle decided to continue this tradition for a couple of years, before realizing that there was a fantastic opportunity to be had, as every year, the amount donated got bigger and bigger. In March 2004, Heugle and his team decided to file and start their own non-profit charity for kids with cancer, all in honor of Frances. They incorporated The Frances Foundation on Frances’s birthday, July 26, 2004. Heugle says, “We had a very simple mission: Raise funds to bring some joy and happiness and smiles to the kids while they’re fighting cancer.”

He explains that if a child is diagnosed with cancer and they and their family are spending all the time in the hospital, then that family is ultimately going to lose income. “They have problems paying mortgage, rent, food, clothing, utility bills,” Heugle elaborates. “So, that makes us a two-pronged charity: Doing individual things for the kids with cancer, which includes trips to Disney, Broadway, sporting events, dinners, and birthday parties, as well as helping their families with the financial burdens that they incur while their kids are in the hospital.”

The Present
The first gala that the Frances Foundation held was in March of 2005. The non-profit has grown enormously since, Heugle elaborates. Through this growth, they have been able to support dozens of families through their Smiles Program, as well as contributing a bit with child cancer research. “We’re as compassionate now in 2024 as we were 20 years ago, if not more compassionate,” Heugle says. “It’s very special to help the kids and their families.”

When asked about the most rewarding part of running the foundation, Heugle fondly answers, “The ‘thank yous.’” And, right as he says this, his email pings with just that: A “thank you” from one of the foundation’s Warriors. He says, “I got a beautiful thank you email a few minutes ago from Sami Stanley. She was our very first Warrior at our very first gala. What she really wanted was a puppy, and at our first gala, we presented her with a puppy. Now, she’s a full-time trustee.” He laughs and adds, “Isn’t that pretty cool?” Nowadays, Stanley, aside from being a trustee, is one of the foundation’s face painters at the galas. 

Heugle elaborates that the gala isn’t all they do for their Warriors. They have large-scale events that they bring dozens of kids and their families on. “We go on a trip to a college basketball game. We have a big event at iPlay America down in Freehold. We have a huge picnic and barbecue in the middle of the summer and go on a fishing trip in July. We just had 100 tickets to see the Yankees.” Heugle explains that they hold these events all year round, but the main event for the kids is the gala. 

The gala is every October, serving approximately fifty pediatric cancer families. Heugle explains how the gala works: “We have Warrior families, and some of our Angel families come back. The Warriors are our VIPs. We have a solemn ceremony for our Angels, and then we call up our Warriors, and we present them with a gift. They’re our guests of honor.” The event, taking place at Ocean Place Resort, has close to 1,000 people in attendance.

Fond Memories

When asked about his fondest memories of the galas in the past, Heugle can only talk about the Warriors and Angels that he has grown to know so well.

“There was one Warrior from Howell. His name was Nick. He was at our gala, and after the program was over, we had a live band and dancing. Nick did this dance that attracted this huge, 200-person crowd, and he went wild dancing. He passed three months later, but at the dance, his parents were glowing with smiles.”

He recalls another Warrior, Haley, who co-emceed with him one year. “A lot of the girls lose their hair during treatment, and she had this beautiful wig on. She was about 13 years-old. It was a sweet gala moment, with us being up on the podium together.”

Another tradition that takes place at the gala is each Warrior is called up to the stage, and are offered to say one word. Typically, the words are things like “Courage,” “Fight,” “Perseverance,” “Love,” or “Hope.” Heugle recalls, “One boy, Joey, comes up to me, and he pulls on my sleeve, and he asks, ‘Can I say two words?’ He goes up to the mic and says, ‘Thank you.’”

The Frances Foundation’s 2024 gala marks the twentieth anniversary of the occasion. For the tenth gala, the theme was all white. Heugle smiles and says, “I remember standing in the center hallway, and the crowd was coming in wearing all white, and I had this real nice moment where I felt like we were all angels on the top of clouds.” Heugle says that they do themes for every gala, from “Glitter and Gold” to “Bowties and Pearls,” but the angelic imagery of the 10th anniversary dictates the theme for the 20th. “I want to go all white again, so that’s what we’re doing,” Heugle says,

How To Help

The Frances Foundation is a crucial nonprofit of Monmouth County. If you would like to get involved, donate or help in some way, go to their website, www.francesfoundation.net, or email Bob Heugle directly at rheugle@byrnesohern.com.

The Twentieth Annual Frances Foundation Gala, The Enchanting White Gala, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, October 26, at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch.