Mindex Supports 13thirty Cancer Connect with Donation Pledge

Rochester, N.Y. – Mindex, a local Rochester technology leader in software development and professional services, has pledged a generous donation to 13thirty Cancer Connect and their programs helping teens and young adults with cancer live their best lives.

“Each year our charity initiatives are driven by our employees and cancer is something that we all have been affected by at some point in our lives. The remarkable work Lauren and 13thirty Cancer Connect are doing for the Rochester community and beyond deserves to be celebrated and I am honored to match every donation received on behalf of our employees, families, and friends” said President Marc Fiore.

After the 10-day event honoring Mindex’s 27th anniversary, the organization raised a total of $13,347 and with the Mindex match, a total of $26,694 will be given to 13thirty in support of the Gannett Foundation’s A Community Thrives campaign in July.

“My gratitude is beyond words,” said 13thirty Cancer Connect Executive Director, Lauren Spiker, who founded the organization as a way to keep a promise made to her 19-year-old daughter who died from cancer in 2000. “Melissa asked me to use what I had learned from her to make a difference, to make things better,” Spiker said. “The Mindex team is definitely doing exactly that – making a difference for teens and young adults with cancer – and we are very grateful.”

About 13thirty Cancer Connect
13thirty Cancer Connect, formerly called Melissa’s Living Legacy Teen Cancer Foundation, was established in 2001 by Lauren Spiker after the death of her 19-year- old daughter, Melissa, who died of a rare bone marrow cancer in 2000.

Before she died, Melissa challenged her mother to use what she had learned from her “to make a difference, to make things better” for other teens and young adults facing a cancer diagnosis. Started as a grass-roots effort, 13thirty Cancer Connect is now an internationally known and respected leader in the field of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer. Programs for teens, young adults and their parents are offered at the 13thirty Center located within the Al Sigl Community of Agencies.