Thank you for your interest and for taking the time to read about Alex Cefalu Memorial Foundation..  

In March of 2015, my good friend, Alex Cefalu was diagnosed with a very rare and untreatable brain disease.  For three years, Alex valiantly fought, enduring one experimental treatment after another, before ultimately succumbing to the disease.  In February 2018, Alex passed away three weeks prior to his 32nd birthday.

At his funeral, our friends gathered with his parents and shared stories about Alex and our times with him.  We promised his parents that we would never forget Alex – that we would cherish the times we had together, and honor his life at every possible opportunity.

This started with a “Celebration of Alex Cefalu’s Life,” a gathering organized to celebrate Alex on his birthday, March 13, 2018.  Alex’s mother reached out to us after the event and thanked us with a heart-wrenching email.  She wrote:

 “You know, when a parent loses a child, the one thing they don’t want is for their child to be forgotten, no matter the age.  After all, everyone else’s life goes on and your child will always be stuck in the past.  But you and all of Alex’s friends have made us feel confident that Alex will never be forgotten and that his memory will be a part of you forever…and that is such an amazing feeling for us.”

Our hope is that by honoring Alex with this Foundation, each year, his memory and spirit will live on, not only through those that were closest to him, but through others who are only getting to know Alex through this event.  In doing so, together, we will ensure that, “Alex will never be forgotten and that his memory will be a part of you forever.”

Surely that in itself is a worthy enough cause, but please also know that all proceeds from this event will be donated equally to the Immune Deficiency Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

These two charities have great meaning to Alex’s parents, Harriet and Sal. Alex’s death was not the first time that they had to deal with unspeakable tragedy. Years earlier, Alex’s brother, Louis, had been diagnosed with a blood disease while Alex was still in elementary school.  While these foundations did everything they could for the family, Louis passed away without making it through high school.

What Harriet and Sal have gone through is unfathomable. No parent should have to bury a child, let alone their only two sons. We will not let the memory of Alex fade away, and we need your help. If you decide to donate any items to Alex’s memorial outing, in any form, know that your donation will help these charitable foundations work to ensure that no family ever face what the Cefalus have suffered through.

With all our hearts, I thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,

Brandon Pflaum

The Alex Cefalu Memorial Foundation, Inc.*

Cell: (845) 300-8968

Email: bgpflaum@gmail.com

Outing/Foundation Website:  www.CefaluFund.com

*501(c)(3) tax exempt organization