We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eric Newman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The story of Roc Solid Foundation began more than 30 years ago when I was three years old and diagnosed with liver cancer. To the surprise of my doctors, I won
the battle; but two of my first cousins, who were also diagnosed with different types of cancer at age three, did not survive.

These experiences led me at age 25 to assemble a group of friends and organize a fundraiser for the local pediatric hospital that saved his life. That was the first “Night for the Fight,” and it was a huge success, leaving the group with a strong desire to do more.

In 2009, Roc Solid Foundation officially came to life as a nonprofit with the mission to build hope for families fighting pediatric cancer. The organization strives to shine light on very dark circumstances, providing opportunities for kids with cancer to play through its Playset program and also providing Ready Bags to
families when they are first diagnosed, so they know they are not alone as they begin a terrifying journey.

I wrote the book “What Hope Looks Like” to share this story of turning my pain into my purpose and to inspire others to do the same.

Eric, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Roc Solid Foundation provides Ready Bags and playsets to kids fighting cancer through more than 100 children’s hospital partnerships throughout the country.

Why playsets? Because when kids are playing, cancer is the last thing on their minds. Playsets also provide kids with a safe, germ-free place to play when their immune systems are compromised by treatments.

Roc Solid Ready Bags are given to families at diagnosis and include all the necessities for unexpected hospital stays. But more importantly, they send a message to families that they will not have to fight the battle alone.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Roc Solid was temporarily not able to orchestrate team-building events for groups to construct backyard playsets for kids fighting cancer. But at that time, the organization was receiving more requests than ever… because kids fighting cancer needed a safe place to play more than ever.

So rather than pausing our playset program, we found a way to ship the playset and build experience to families throughout the country. We still do this today, so we can provide playsets to kids fighting cancer even in areas that Roc Solid does not have a presence.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Yes. Roc Solid Foundation was born out of my background in construction and passion to help kids fighting cancer. It started as a hobby; my buddies and I would work throughout the week at our “paid” jobs and then meet up, (have some fun together) and change the world for a local family. It was such a simple, tangible concept that literally anyone could be a part of, yet I knew made a huge impact, because we got to witness it every time. I knew from the beginning it was something I had to stick to and find a way to grow. From our first playset build, I dreamt about reaching every single child diagnosed with cancer, and that’s a vision I won’t ever stop fighting for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rocsolidfoundation.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rocsolidfoundation
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocsolidfoundation
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-newman/

Image Credits
Misty Saves the Day