September 26, 2017

It has been almost 5 years since I lost my son. To this day, my son is not laid at his final resting place. He is with us in an urn close by. This brings me comfort. I do not believe I could bear to see his name on a tombstone, not just yet. I think this would finalize things too much for me.

Each person deals with death differently. I do not judge. You do whatever you need to do. What works best and feels right is right for you. That is what I believe. Although time has passed, my grief remains unchanged. I think of my son every second of every day and I wish I would wake from this nightmare. The world continues moving forward, my world has forever stopped.

I still battle the “if I would have… I could have… and I should have…” each day. As parents we take care of our children and fix things, but cancer is something we as parents cannot fix. And now I am left to go on in a world without him, always wondering if there was more that could have been done. This is something I am sure will never go away. I am also sure there is many others out there like me that deal with this.

Each day is a struggle to push through. I look for the positive to focus on and this tremendously helps. Grief is not something that passes, that ends, or for that matter even changes. It is always there, lurking below the surface in varying degrees. There are people who say “time will heal”; they do not realize our time forever stands still. Every event, holiday, vacation always brings us back to that moment we lost our child. Thus these are both wonderful and tragic at the same time. We smile and fight through the tears. I am always happy to be part of the occasion but heartbroken knowing that Ian isn’t here to be a part of it. There are also those who say “things happen for a reason”. To them I say, what is the reason my child had cancer and what is the reason my child died? When I hear those words from someone, I am always respectful of their feelings and mind my tongue, but inside I am thinking a hug and their silence would have been much more appreciated.

These moments will never change, they are part of my journey; the cards I have been dealt. I am fortunate though, because I have so many wonderful people in my life that truly understand and stick by me. It is from my son’s life and these people that I draw strength to continue on.

Each day I strive to make my grief a positive. It is not always easy. None the less I forge on. For those of you that battle as I do, here is how I break down grief so that I can make it through each day without my son.
G – Give to others who need help
R – Reflect on all your cherished memories
I – Inspire others through your actions
E – Express your emotions
F – Focus on all that is good in your life
I know this idea may be hard and there will be days when you can’t do it. That is okay. Just continue to try. This is all we can ask of ourselves.

June 13, 2017

Clemens PicThe Ian Clemens Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of the first Ian Clemens Foundation Scholarship.

The 2017 winner is Robbie Gulick. Robbie is a 2017 graduate of Livonia Churchill High School and was part of their MSC Program. He is the son of Brian and Lynne Gulick.

Robbie will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall pursuing an engineering degree. We wish him all the best as he begins this next chapter of his life.

Congratulations Robbie!

June 2, 2017

It has been a busy year for us at the Foundation and we wanted to pass along this update along an update to all of you.

As you all know we received our non profit designation last July and we have been quite busy since then.  It has taken some time and lots of energy but we are very pleased to have this website up and running so that we can keep everyone informed. We have an outstanding all volunteer board as well as an excellent all volunteer scholarship selection committee.  I could not be more grateful to all these amazing people.

As our foundation grows we continue to share with you our updates so you know how your generosity is creating an IMPACT.

This year, our very first U of M scholarship recipient graduated from the College of Engineering and is beginning her career at Google in California.  We now have 3 students at U of M receiving the Ian Clemens Memorial Scholarship for Future Engineers.  A junior from Belleville, a sophomore from Grosse Pointe, and and incoming freshman that has not yet been selected as of this writing.This year is the first year we are offering The Ian Clemens Foundation Scholarship for a Livonia High School graduate. This $1000.00 award is given to a Livonia graduate pursuing an engineering degree at any accredited public Michigan university.  The winner of this award will be notified sometime this week.

Our first Trivia Night held back in February was a huge success with 163 people participating. Because of its popularity we will be doing it again in 2018.  We will be having it at a different venue (St. Mary’s Cultural Center) next year (2/25/18) in order to accommodate a bigger crowd. We have now partnered with C.S. Mott Pediatric Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital of Michigan Oncology Center to provided funding for families that may need financial assistance.

In March, we had the privilege to host a family dinner for the kids and their families at Mott’s Pediatric Cancer Center.  This was so well received. The families truly appreciated having this available to them. The Twisted Rooster in Belleville donated the entire meal for all the families. Because of their generosity, we were able to use the funds we had put aside for the meal to instead buy gifts for all the children. This is something we plan to do on a quarterly basis and hope to expand to other Michigan Pediatric Cancer Centers.

We have supported the organ and tissue community through financial contributions, volunteering at their events and speaking to groups about organ and tissue donation.In less than one year I feel we have met our mission and are well on track to expand our reach. We could not do all this without all of you.  For that we are forever grateful. The impact from your donations are far reaching!

If you have any questions about our update,  please feel free to contact us. Please “LIKE” us on Facebook and follow us on TWITTER. Thank you for all you do! We continue to be forever grateful for you unending love and support!

SAVE THE DATES FOR OUR OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:
Painting with a Purpose 11/2/17
Trivia Night 2/25/18
1st Golf Outing – May 2018 date TBD
Poker Run 2018 – 8/5/18

April 5, 2017

Welcome to our website. If you’ve made it this far I hope you have been able to check out the other pages on the site.

This site is still a work in progress and has been a home grown operation, with the help of You Tube videos.

This page is to make people aware of who we are, what we do, and how we are supporting our mission goals.I hope you enjoy the site, and thank you for supporting our foundation!

Al Clemens, Vice President