Founding Family Spotlight: The Agnews
Carolyn and Mark live in the north suburbs of Chicago with their four kids, Molly, Ellie, James and Henry, and a chocolate lab named Boomer. In January 2019, Mark had a seizure and was diagnosed with stage II brain cancer. For Mark, who was then CEO of Chicago’s beloved pizza institution Lou Malnati’s, life would never be the same.
Before his diagnosis, Mark had been helping to raise money to build the Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Cancer Institute at Northwestern Hospital. When it officially opened in January 2019, he became the institute’s very first patient.
“Our kids really struggled during that first year,” Mark says. “They would say ‘I just wish I had more people who understood me.’ They had great friends at school, but they didn’t understand what they were going through.”
During that time, Mark and Carolyn met Erika and Jeff Hlavacek, both of whom had recently been diagnosed with cancer. The Hlavaceks had already gone through their share of ups and downs. They decided to get their kids together, along with the Smiths. “The first time we met, it was magic,” says Carolyn. “We knew we had to create something bigger and reach more kids.” Pickles grew organically from there.
Ellie, the Agnews’ 10-year-old, says, “Our favorite thing about Pickles is knowing that it’s ok to get together and have fun even though our dad has brain cancer.”
The Agnews are dedicated to expanding Pickles to help build more communities of kids supporting kids. “We can’t imagine going through this cancer journey without our kids having a community like Pickles,” says Carolyn. “We want to give that to as many kids as we can.”
Here’s how you can help Pickles grow so we can provide support to kids and families at a time when they need it most:
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