We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful AJ Hack. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with AJ below.

AJ, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

A defining moment for Mothers Against Cancer was when our organization began in 1989. When two year old Anne, lost her battle with cancer in 1984, Ann’s mother and her friends started Mothers Against Cancer. The mission of MAC, from it’s inception was to raise funds for a research so that we may find a cure for all forms of childhood cancer. The loss of Ann’s life after her courageous battle was a defining moment for her family and our community because it set into action our volunteer group. Mothers Against Cancer is now a thriving non profit organization made up of all volunteer women from the Lake Houston area. We have raised almost $8 million dollars for pediatric cancer research.

AJ, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As the Community Liaison for Mothers Against Cancer my job entails keeping the other 63 members of our volunteer organization informed about other charities and events in the area. Mothers Against Cancer likes to stay involved with other local charities as well as pediatric cancer charities from Houston. My main role in the organization is to help MAC members participate in Gold Fight Win. Gold Fight Win is a collaboration between Addi’s Faith Foundation, L3 and Mothers Against Cancer; all local Kingwood charities. Throughout the month of September there are many Gold Fight Win events planned throughout Humble ISD to raise awareness and education about childhood cancer but also to honor our local students who are fighting this disease. Mothers Against Cancer has been involved with Gold Fight Win since it’s inception in 2017.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Mothers Against Cancer has a strong reputation in the area because we are 100% volunteer run organization. We 63 non-paid volunteers who handle everything our organization needs to fundraise. We also donate all money from our fundraisers directly to Texas Children’s Cancer Center for research. Members of our board, have close communication with the doctors leading research at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center in Houston and we are able to donate directly to their life saving research.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

For many years, Mothers Against Cancer held an annual fun run or family 5K. This fundraiser was held in the spring. We used this event to honor one of our long time members, Virginia Gandy, who had passed away from cancer. After a few years, members of Mothers Against Cancer realized we needed to pivot away from this event to take our fundraising event in a different direction. This was a difficult decision. Members of MAC wanted to honor our friend but we also wanted to raise more money for childhood cancer research. In 2022, we held our newly revamped fundraiser, the first annual, Virginia Gandy Gold Tournament. The Gandy family was very supportive and the event was a huge success in it’s first year. Making the switch from a 5K to a golf tournament was not an easy task as we had to design the new event from the ground up. Members of the golf tournament committee worked for many months to find new sponsors and get fresh ideas for the golf event. The end result was a profitable and fun tournament. As Members of Mothers Against Caner we plan to carry on the Virginia Gandy Golf Tournament for years to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mothersagainstcancer.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mothers-Against-Cancer-MAC-198453196868043/

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