Paying it forward: Rhinelander concert to raise funds for terminally ill Northwoods residents
RHINELANDER – One of Jesse Robinson’s most treasured possessions is sand his mom collected from Santa Monica Beach in the summer of 2008. The Rhinelander native has held on to this unique keepsake for nearly two decades because it represents the brief but priceless respite his family enjoyed in southern California before his mother, Laura, succumbed to colon cancer.
The trip was made possible by an organization called Dream Foundation, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit and the only national organization that grants final dreams to terminally ill adults.
Laura Robinson had briefly lived in Los Angeles after graduating from Rhinelander High School in 1973, and always dreamed of returning with her children to show them her favorite places – a trip she believed would, in her words, “make them smile for a lifetime.” She didn’t have the means to make it happen, but her favorite oncology nurse helped her apply to the foundation.
