It Can Happen to Anyone

About The Video

“Did you know that brain and spinal cord tumors are the deadliest form of pediatric cancer?” The first-ever Making Headway outreach video, It Can Happen to Anyone, is the culmination of months of work by a host of supportive and talented individuals, many of whom volunteered their time.

It all began last winter, when Making Headway approached acclaimed documentary producer Dan Wilson, owner of ORG® Media. Our idea was to create a brief, captivating video that would illustrate dramatically how any family might discover that their child has a brain tumor—and how Making Headway can help. We wanted it to take viewers through a year in the life of a family…in just 90 seconds. ORG Media added the novel idea of filming through the eyes of the Dad.

After an exhaustive creative process, we agreed on a script and cast professional actors to play the main roles. A large crew spent one ten-hour day filming at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. A second full day of filming, both at a private home and at Life The Place To Be event center, was followed by weeks of editing and review. Then our expert production team handled the task of cutting the video down for Instagram- and Facebook-friendly versions (30 and 60 seconds, respectively). Yet it wasn’t quite done yet. Not everything we wanted to say could be explained with visuals alone—we needed a voice-over. We were honored when critically acclaimed actress and singer Vanessa Williams agreed to volunteer her time for this role.

Additionally, the producers of the video are finishing up a behind-the scenes mini-film about Making Headway, featuring Ashley Wagner and her family. Ashley was diagnosed with DIPG (one of the very worst types of brain tumors) as a young child. The video explores her family’s journey and how Making Headway Foundation impacted their lives.

Making Headway wants to thank all the many individuals and organizations that made this whole process possible. We are especially grateful to the folks at ORG Media, who produced a professional, high-quality video within a tight budget. We’re confident It Can Happen To Anyone will play a significant part in raising awareness about pediatric brain tumors and the work we do.  Making Headway Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that was originally created by a few families who had a child diagnosed with a brain or spinal cord tumor. Since that time, we have thousands of other children and their families. To learn more, visit makingheadway.org/mission or call 914-238-8384.