Our Story

As Jeremy and Chris were building their careers like typical 20 somethings, they had their first life changing event that opened their eyes to the importance of finding a true purpose. Chris was the spokeswoman for United Airlines when the planes struck the towers... and like so many, their lives changed that day. However, given Chris’s role, they were exposed to deeply personal stories and details that had a profound impact on their lives and sense of priorities. They began getting involved in various charities and volunteer efforts whenever possible and began to discover the joy and fulfillment of contributing to a cause. 

However, it wasn’t until Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the USVI in fall of 2017 that they would find the personal connection to commit to a single cause. They had spent many years traveling to the islands with one another and their three children and identify with St. John as their “happy place.” They have many friends on the island whose lives were rocked by these storms and who lost everything... Literally. They felt compelled to spring into action as quickly as possible following the storms and started to raise money and awareness. Jeremy traveled back and forth to the islands with supplies and spent countless hours assisting with clean up and rebuilding efforts.

One of the ways they raised money was by convincing some of their long time music industry friends to help them throw a few house concerts and mini-festivals. They found this a great way to incentivize people to donate. It was a win-win-win. They were able to provide a small but worthwhile revenue opportunity to artists already routing through town, raise a small but meaningful amount of money for hurricane relief, and treat their community to great live music experiences! 

They threw 3 successful events and were in the process of planning their 4th when their lives changed once again. In April of 2018 Chris was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer.

Prior to starting chemotherapy they decided to take one last trip together as a family. They loaded their 6, 8 and 10 year old daughters on a plane and headed to see many of their friends play “Down the Hatch” music festival in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was at this festival that their daughters got to meet Tony Luca and Keaton Simons... two musicians that they loved to listen to but had not yet met.

As aspiring young musicians themselves, they were invited to sit in on an intimate songwriting workshop at the event where they got to play along with Keaton, Tony, Uncle Pat McGee and others. Although that experience would be amazing for any aspiring musician, none of the musicians could have known how important that moment was for the Schultz family. The joy and excitement on the faces of Jeremys daughters and wife... in that moment... was a much needed oasis from the mounting fear and uncertainty of the cancer battle that awaited them when we returned back home.

The day after they returned home from DTH Chris received her first chemo infusion. Jeremy took a sabbatical to spend time with her and the girls throughout the most intense portion of the journey. Chris was a pillar of strength through intense neo-adjuvant chemo, a mastectomy and lymph node removal, 6 weeks of radiation and 11 more months of post-surgical chemo. 

Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they were overwhelmed with pride and gratitude. Pride in their family and community... for the amazing support they received. Gratitude for the bountiful resources they had at their fingertips that enabled them to remain optimistic and strong along this journey (financial resources, great hospitals, good insurance, time off, etc.). They are keenly aware that many people who face this “disease” are not as blessed and lucky as they are.

They’ve become active in the cancer community and have met many families that struggle through their journey... and they want to help. Understanding the limitations of their resources, they know that they are incapable of raising the type of funds that it would take to find a cure for cancer. Instead, they remembered back to that unique experience in North Carolina at Pat McGee’s “Down the Hatch” music festival, and how important that was to the spirit of Chris and her caregiver team.

They remembered how it provided a distraction from the intense pressure and emotion of the cancer journey… and it was at that moment that they connected with the idea of Concerts for Cancer. They realize that they have an opportunity, even a duty to connect the skills, experiences, relationships and resources they’ve built over the years to create experiences that help other cancer fighters find these moments of pause and distraction from an otherwise challenging and stressful journey. 

They’ve been successful throwing these events for hurricane relief in the past, now they will look to improve and scale these events to raise money for an even more wide spread cause… one that unfortunately touches us all. Concerts for Cancer is a 100% volunteer-led non-profit organization that partners with and produces unique live concert experiences that bring together artists and fans while raising money for a variety of cancer related causes.