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Noah Schwartz Supports His Father’s Memorial Fund
May 2008
Any time of the day, the LeRoy and Lucille Melchor Rotunda in the entrance of Alkek Hospital is a busy place. Doctors, patients, nurses, students, families and staff all mingle under the stained glass dome. One might not notice a 13-year-old young man in tennis shoes and shorts picking his way through the crowd. That is, until he sees a giant check with his name on the signature line and a giant smile crosses his face. Teenagers aren’t generally known for their altruism. When most receive a bit of money, they can’t get to the mall fast enough.
But while seventh-grader Noah Schwartz seems like a typical teen, he has a capacity for generosity far beyond his years.
“For Noah, M. D. Anderson is already a familiar place. He lost his father, Stefan, to pancreatic cancer when he was only seven. In the intervening years, Noah and his mother, Joan Spaw, have created The Stefan Schwartz Memorial Fund for Pancreatic Cancer Research and have tirelessly raised money to fund it. Mother and son baked ginger snaps every Saturday morning and sold them at the local farmers’ market. Family and friends generously contributed to the fund. Joan’s mother knitted and sold scarves. Thanks to the efforts of everyone involved, the fund has already surpassed $20,000 in only six years.
“Noah naturally wanted to donate money he received from his recent Bar Mitzvah to his father’s endowment. He told his mother, “I felt so helpless [during his father’s illness]. If I can contribute something to research, then I can help.” Noah’s philanthropy led to the meeting with his father’s physician, Robert Wolff, M.D., in the rotunda on February 5 for the check presentation. As Noah speaks with Dr. Wolff, Joan stands back and admires her son for all he’s gone through and for everything he is becoming. “He’s gone through the grief and he’s on the other side,” she says. “He’s an amazing kid.”