For some, tragedy is just tragedy. But for others, tragedy can be turned into hope and spark an idea to help change the lives of those who must face the unexpected.

For Julie Robertson and her four sons, tragedy struck when her husband/their father, Don was diagnosed with stage IV non-smoking lung cancer. Don, fortunately, had planned ahead in the event that he wouldn’t be able to work, but most others aren’t as fortunate.

“You know, there’s a lot of organizations that donate to children or to cancer research or to finding a cure,” said Julie Robertson. “When I researched it, there weren’t a lot of foundations that were helping people day-to-day. But they didn’t take care of what we wanted to take care of.”

For this reason, the Robertson’s decided to start the Daniel Robertson Family Foundation. The purpose of the foundation it to raise funds to give to others in the event of an unexpected illness such as cancer.

“The most important thing I think people need to understand is you’re living your life, doing your thing and then there’s that day where something’s not right,” said Julie. “What people need to understand is that it could be any day, it could be them, it could be their neighbor, family member. The fact that I can help take even one burden off their plate, that’s what we’re trying to share with people.”

When the primary wage-earner in the household becomes ill and unable to work, families suffer financially, sometimes having to choose between paying house related bills and paying hospital related bills.

“During the time that their dad was sick, the boys would come home from school worried. All they knew was that their dad had cancer, that he wasn’t working, and he was getting treated,” Julie recalled. “But then they would have friends that were in the same situation but weren’t going to get Christmas or they were having to move because they couldn’t afford to live where they were living because all of their money was going to treat their dad or their mom and they couldn’t work.

“They didn’t have money anymore, so they were getting kicked out of where they were living,” she added. “Because that was happening to their friends, my sons would come home and ask ‘Are we going to have to move, mom?’ and I would say ‘No’. ‘Are we going to get Christmas? So, and so is not getting Christmas. Their dad has cancer too. Why do we get Christmas and they don’t?’ So that was kind of going on the whole time my husband was fighting.”

The Robertson’s decided to do something about it. They began having fundraisers to help those in need, and in 2014 the Daniel Robertson Family Foundation was born.

If the name Daniel Robertson sounds familiar to you, it well should – he is the primary shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays and an Upland, California native.

At the time the foundation was started, Daniel was still in the minor leagues. Typically, minor league players don’t start their own foundations, it’s something they do when (if) they make it to the bigs. Not Daniel Robertson. So important was this cause to he and his family, they went all-in with it.

“Since it was the one-year anniversary of my husband’s death, we wanted to do something to honor him and so it seemed like a good idea at the time, to go ahead and get it going even though he was in the minor leagues,” said Julie. “To watch him take that mantra of helping people and not just for our foundation, and taking it into the different organizations that he played for, and being more a part of what they were doing because he understood because we had gone through this.”

The Robertsons raised $9,000 at that the 2017 Mini FanFest and decided to make it an annual event, with the second one raising $10,000.

On Sunday, January 6, 2019, the third edition of the Daniel Robertson Family Foundation Mini FanFest will take place at 1253 W 9th St. Upland, CA. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year, their goal is to raise $20,000 to help those in need of finical support while a loved one is battling an illness.

“We came up with the FanFest idea when I went with Daniel to the Rays FanFest and watched how they put it together,” Julie explained. “The ping pong, corn hole, and soft toss in the cages. I watched that and saw how much fun that fans had. I didn’t want to do the normal golf tournament or fashion show. I wanted to do something different and I remembered that.”

Each year, more and more professional baseball players sign on to hang out with attendees, sign autographs, take photos, and play on-site games like ping pong and corn hole.

“The most difficult part [of the FanFest events] is getting the players,” added Julie. “So many of them are here and there and everywhere, but every year they show up and it’s awesome, and it’s great. They make it happen.”

There is also a silent auction filled with donated items from players and teams.

“If people want to sponsor the event, they can get that information on our website, or if you want to donate a silent auction item,” added Julie. “If you know somebody that needs help, apply.”

Tickets for the 3rd annual Mini FanFest can be purchased for $10 in advance or $15 at the door. The ticket comes with an autograph card, while a $50 Super Fan ticket includes admission and the signing of personal items, excluding bats and jerseys.

A list of players scheduled to participate in this year’s event will be announced in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for that and a follow-up about the event itself.

“We’re meant to fight, we just are,” Julie added emphatically. “It changes your life, your whole focus changes. You’re in a battle, you’re in this fight, and the fact that our lifestyle didn’t change is a miracle.

I didn’t realize when we were going through it, but some people don’t have that.”