Abdi Towfigh Fund To Fight Leukemia

Since 2003, in Abdi’s name, we have helped raise awareness and organized many Bone Marrow drives in partnership with City of Hope and Be The Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program and helped register more diverse people in the Marrow Registry to improve the chances of finding a match for any child anywhere in the world. We need more people to join the registry all over the world.  The cure for blood cancer lies in the hands of ordinary people. Learn more by visiting www.bethematch.org.

With the help of our generous donors, we can do more every year!   Here are some examples of how we have made a difference over the years:

• • We have partnered up with a wonderful non-profit organization called the Dream Foundation to give life to final Dreams of many terminal Leukemia patients, improving the quality of their precious lives in ways medicine alone cannot.  For example, in Abdi’s name:  Theodore, 48 from Lake Owego, OR, Alva, 32 from Moreno Valley, CA and Miguel, 18 from Santa Ana, CA were able to create one final joyful memory with their loved ones at the happiest place on earth: Disneyland.  Roene, 70 of Maine went on a memorable trip with her two sisters.  We also sent Denise, 58 from Forked River, New Jersey to Graceland with her husband. Tracie Ann, 32 was able to travel to Hawaii with her wonderful mother.

• • Every year we have helped pay for the expenses & treatment of impoverished children suffering from leukemia in Iran as well as financial support to their families through a wonderful non-profit, non-governmental organization called MAHAK.

• • We have sent kids diagnosed with leukemia/brain tumor/cancer along with their siblings to the summer Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, which is a place where kids with cancer can be kids again, play outside and have fun like any healthy kid.

• • We have given grants to City of Hope’s Sheri & Les Biller Patient & Family Resource Center that help Leukemia patients through pain & palliative care physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, spiritual care chaplains, healing arts workshops, social workers, spiritual care chaplains, healing arts workshops, peer support groups, health information, complementary medicine, nutrition education, etc.

• • With the help of another amazing non-profit organization called Challenged America (our non-profit fiscal sponsor) that provides wheelchairs, etc. to kids with disabilities, we were able to hold fundraising events in Abdi’s memory and raised enough money to donate tens of thousands of dollars to the Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Center at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach, which provides comprehensive treatment and research for children and their families who are fighting cancer or a serious blood disorder.  They provide psychological testing, late effects follow up, and counseling to assist children facing school and social issues as a result of fighting a life-threatening disease.

• • We sponsored children suffering from leukemia in the Annual Champions Run for Life as well as sponsored “A Day in the Playroom” for one week in the pediatric hematology-oncology unit, which benefited the Jonathan Jacques Children’s Cancer Center at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach:  They provide comprehensive treatment and research for children and their families who are fighting cancer or a serious blood disorder.

• • We have sent grants to the City of Hope Clinical Social Work Dept to help alleviate financial pressures on leukemia patients’ families in need.

• • We have made contributions to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, as well as to “Challenged America”

• • We are continually looking for ways to make a difference now in the lives of those suffering from leukemia in our beloved Abdi’s name and are grateful for the incredible support you have shown us; hope you will continue to support us in our endeavor for years to come.

About the Fund

Abdullah “Abdi” Towfigh’s journey started on July 9, 1973, when he was born to Iranian parents traveling in Akron, Ohio. He was a fun-loving, energetic and kind-hearted human being who enjoyed life to the fullest. He was a loyal friend and a unique, bright and courageous individual whose personality exuded love and excitement.

After the 1979 Iran Revolution, the Towfigh family immigrated to France and then to the United States in 1980. Abdi lived in America until his sudden, early death on Oct. 10, 2003, from leukemia. He was only 30 years old.

Abdi attended UCLA as an undergraduate student and went on to earn a law degree from USC Law School. In 1999, he began his legal career with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in Los Angeles.

Abdi had a closely-knit circle of friends who were incredibly supportive. A former colleague’s eloquent words embody the degree of appreciation and respect those closest to him feel:

“I met Abdi Towfigh as his client and he [soon] became a friend. He was one of those rare individuals who seemed to operate quite effortlessly at a spiritual level that I continue to aspire to in my life. As a member of the Paul Hastings team, he personified all of the positive attributes expected from someone working at such a major legal concern: strong, fit, handsome, confident, articulate, intelligent, effective and distinctive. But what most impressed me were those qualities so rarely found in such a naturally gifted human being: warmth, concern, humility, kindness, consideration, appreciation and respect. At 30, he was engaged in a promising career and so very full of life. And then, just a few weeks after he suddenly fell ill and took a medical leave of absence, he was gone — a victim of the ravages of leukemia.”

With help from Abdi’s former firm, Paul Hastings, the Towfigh family in 2003 created the Abdi Towfigh Fund to Fight Leukemia in his memory. Fund proceeds provide hope and help to children and others who suffer from this dreadful illness.

To make a secure, tax-deductible donation online, click on the button below. You may also send checks payable to the California Community Foundation, noting that the donation is for the Abdi Towfigh Fund to Fight Leukemia. Checks should be mailed to:

California Community Foundation
717 W Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

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Contributions to the California Community Foundation represent irrevocable gifts subject to the legal and fiduciary control of the foundation’s board of directors. This charge will appear on your credit card statement as a payment to “Calif Comm Fdn – CCF”. In addition, California Community Foundation incurs a third-party administrative fee of 2.7 percent for credit card contributions. The foundation will charge the fee directly to the individual fund.