Dress Up Dollars

Let's Celebrate!!
August will mark the first year of The Princess Alexa Foundation! We have worked hard to bring happiness to hundreds of children through dress up and play. Everyone has been touched by the smiles of little princesses and superheroes across the country which has only cemented into our hearts the goodness of our mission.
To celebrate our one year anniversary, please consider donating to our cause so we can continue this work for many years ahead. 100% of your donation goes directly to the children we serve. Be a hero yourself and send us Dress Up Dollars!

This is Jordan - a young Leukemia fighter who received a Dress Up Delivery from us earlier this year. Her mother recently joined our board and is the operations manager for the local Teacher's Tools Stores.

Throughout the month of August (beginning Monday August 3rd), Teacher's Tools will be accepting donations at all four of their Dallas/Fort Worth locations. Teachers, Parents and anyone who has children in their lives will love these unique stores filled with items to inspire creative learning and imaginative play. Thank you to the owners and staff of Teacher's Tools for this generous effort!

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Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Program: If you live in Texas or Louisiana, you can help us raise money by linking your Kroger Plus card to our foundation and earn us points with every dollar you spend through April 2010. Download this form and take it to Kroger with you the next time you shop- you only need to link it up once. Thanks!

Our Children's House Baylor-Dallas Dress Up Chest

In the heart of Downtown Dallas, there is a special place called Our Children's House (OCH). It is appropriately named as that is where many children learn to live - it becomes their home for however long they need it to be. The young patients at OCH Baylor in Dallas are there for many reasons- some are dealing with birth disorders, others are healing from serious illnesses and still others are recovering from traumatic injuries. Despite their differences, they all have one thing in common- they are all sick children who need happiness in their lives- an escape from reality.

We are humbled to serve these often forgotten children. In June, The Princess Alexa Foundation placed a Dress Up Chest in OCH's newly redesigned playroom and filled it with costumes so these children can take advantage of the joy playing dress up brings. A short time later, we supplied six OCH outpatient therapy facilities in the DFW area with dress up clothes they use to inspire the children they treat. Our Children's House at Baylor is a wonderful organization that we are proud to support! Special thanks to Kennedy Legal Firm of Dallas for sponsoring the closets and Little Adventures for supplying the comfortable, washable dress ups for these adorable children.

The Children's Dress Up Closets are Open!

On June 25th we celebrated the first Dress Up Closets Opening at Children's Medical Center Dallas. Generous supporters, volunteers, family and friends gathered to make this day a celebration to remember. Young patients were given the star treatment as they walked down the red carpet that lead to a room full of dress up fun. Everywhere you looked there were princesses, ninjas, superheroes and cheerleaders all beaming with joy. It was a very grand opening indeed. A happy day - and Happiness is Healing.

* Thank you to Hitachi - High Technologies of America for sponsoring the closets

* Thank you to Amy Pennington Photography for donating your ability to capture the most precious of moments and supplying us with a slideshow of pictures we will forever cherish

* Thank you to J Aiken of LifeNPortraits for donating your photographic talent so these special children could take away a permanent keepsake

* Thank you to Valerie of Cakes by Valerie in Keller for donating the amazing cake

* Thank you to our donors, especially Little Adventures for supplying us with so many great costumes the kids loved

* Thank you to all our character friends who made the day for those children

* Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this dream come true

Dress Up Closets Opening at Children's Medical Center Dallas

June 25th we will celebrate the opening of two Dress Up Closets at Children's Medical Center of Dallas! Below you will find the stories of the boy and girl whose memories we are honoring. These children were inspirations to thousands as they valiantly fought their diseases with "strength to teach the teachers, faith to reach the preacher, belly laughs and eyes so beautiful."

Princess Alexa's Dress Up Closet

Alexa was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma on December 12, 2005, when she was almost two. She fought for 2 1/2 years until June of 2008 when her weakened immune system allowed an unidentifiable infection to grow in her lungs. Within a matter of two weeks Alexa went from looking and feeling relatively healthy at home to the ICU at Children’s with septic shock and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Alexa passed away on June 25, 2008 cradled in the arms of her mother and father.

Whenever possible, Alexa lived as close to a normal life as she could. She was in gymnastics, went to pre school, played with her brother, made friends, and rode as many carousels as she could. Alexa was seen in princess dresses everywhere she went and quickly became known as “Princess Alexa”. When she was able, Alexa was encouraged to play as much as she wanted. Playgrounds and carousels were a special part of healing for little Alexa. The last week she was alive, Alexa dictated a list for her mother of all the things she wanted to do when she got better. Number one was “Go to a pink park” and number two was “Get a pink dress”. It was only fitting to start a foundation in her memory that would carry on her greatest loves: dress up and play.

Master Blake's Character Cave

Blake was a Super Hero to many; he just needed to find the right cape. Blake started experiencing issues with various illnesses at age 2. The illnesses would seem minor and then grow into something more dangerous and more complicated. The illnesses didn’t always seem to fit together and the symptoms did not tie him into any one diagnosis. He was diagnosed multiple times only to follow an apparent dead end path that created more questions and sometimes more sickness. After 30 plus surgeries and endless days in the hospital, sometimes for months at a time, Blake lost his fight after 6 years of sickness on May 1, 2003 to what should have been a simple virus.

Blake was a Super Hero to many and he used his alter ego to hide from the trouble and pain of living in a hospital or in a clinic or tied to I.V poles. Blake was able to use his Super Hero abilities to create fun in places where most couldn’t see it. He could throw on a cape and sore around the hospital and delight and marvel, all the Doctors and nurses. His pain and sickness could disappear if only for a moment because he was no longer Blake, he was Batman, or Robin, or NightWing, or the Red Power Ranger and nothing, no sickness, no surgery, no disease could ever beat our Super Hero.

Children are a wonderful thing, in that they have learned to escape realities into a safe world simply by wearing a cape. Blake used his costumes to bring light into a world of suffering and pain and discomfort. The simple act of playing super hero, or conquistador, or pirate can let them remember they are kids and they can still enjoy life. It also reminds those of us around them, they are kids and we should enjoy them.

Mary Kay Fundraiser

In some form or another, little girls never stop dressing up. As we get older, the method just changes. From princess dresses and tiaras, we move to make up and fancy shoes. The Princess Alexa Foundation is pleased to have Mary Kay support our Closet Opening with makeup for the older girls in treatment. A girl should always feel beautiful!

Do you know a woman who is in need of feeling beautiful? Know of a young person freshly graduated who could use a stock of cosmetics before heading off to college? Would you like to help celebrate the childhood spirit of seriously ill children through dress up and play?



Alli Carrasco is a Mary Kay Consultant who has generously offered a portion of her profits for the month of June and July to be given to The Princess Alexa Foundation!

Visit her website to place an order or leave a comment for Alli to contact you for more details. Thank you, Alli!

Follow Princess Alexa Foundation on Twitter!

Save the Date! PAF Launch Party June 25th

June 25th we will be celebrating the opening of our first Dress Up Closets at Children's Medical Center Dallas. Please join us in commemorating this major milestone for The Princess Alexa Foundation- exactly one year after the passing of our inspiration.

Our New Program is Delivering Happiness!

Meet Sara, Philip and Allison. These are just a few of the many kids we have given costumes to through our new program- Dress Up Deliveries.


Sara is battling a Wilms Tumor- Stage IV FH. She is just four years old, but has already lived through more than most of us will ever see. Her family is big into putting on productions at home, so Sara was born with a flair for the dramatic. Her favorite color is blue and she likes all kinds of hero stories, so we thought she needed to dress up like the hero that she is. Her mother told us, "Thank you for your help in making Sara continue to smile throughout her treatment". You're welcome Sara- keep fighting with that hero smile!






Philip is one of many happy children. He is a tough little guy who has always loved escaping the realities of medicine through dress up. A boy with this much tenacity needed to have something that could show his inner strength. What is tougher than a true cowboy? Philip loved his new gear so much, he wore it three days straight- and yes, that included night time too. Philip, stay strong through your two and half year treatment to keep the Leukemia away.











Allison is a 4 year old princess whose favorite color is pink and loves all things girly. She has some good days and some bad in her quest to overcome the evil Leukemia that is threatening her royalty, but our "box of goodies really brightened her day" according to her mother, the queen. She liked her new dress so much, she had to pack it up to take to her uncle's house in a nearby kingdom to show him how beautiful she looks in it. Keep living your fairy tale, Allison and you WILL live happily ever after.







So far, we have reached out to children in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusettes, New Jersey, New York, Tennesee and Texas. Please help us continue to bring happiness to children who need it most. If you know a child who is suffering from a serious illness, please send them to our website and tell them about our Dress Up Deliveries program. Tell your medical professional friends about us and how we can serve their patients.

Most importantly, consider donating to our foundation so we can continue to put smiles on children's faces in the midst of pain and sickness. We accept monetary gifts as well as NEW costumes and accessories for children sizes 2-10.