Helping

100% Families

We are able to pass on 100% of donations that we receive.

With over $3.5million provided to family financial assistance alone, and because we conduct continuous lotteries, we are proud to say that our promise to our supporters is that 100% of all direct donations made to Kids with Cancer Foundation will be passed on.

External fundraising sites sometimes take small fees to manage donations received, but once we receive the donation we pass it on in its entirety.

Pictured is 1 year old Makayla from country NSW. Makayla was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in April 2019, at just 6 months old, and has spent most of her time since then living in Sydney with her mum, and being treated at The Children's Hospital at Westmead.
We have had the absolute pleasure of getting to know Makayla and her mum throughout her journey, and were able to provide assistance to her family through the generous donations made by our supporters.
Every time we see Makayla she is just a bundle of giggles!

Thank you again to all our supporters for allowing us to help Makayla's family from Condobolin NSW, a 5 hour drive of 440 km.

Recently we were able to grant the wish and have Makayla’s two siblings fly down unassisted for a reunion with Makayla and her mum in Sydney, it had been months since the family had seen each other. Makayla’s dad had to stay at home in Condobolin to run the family business and that’s sadly a story we hear often.

We hope you all continue to support and donate so we can continue to help the families make memories through cancer journeys like this one. Throughout 2019 we have provided $400,000 to assist families like Makayla’s in every children’s hospital in Australia. The funds we provide are to help each family to pay their household bills. Without our supporters we can’t do what we do in their name.

No management fees, salaries or any running costs of the Foundation are taken from our 'Gift Account', and that is our promise to cancer families and our supporters.  Our donations are only used for families who are struggling financially, and have a child in one of our Australian children's hospitals being treated for childhood cancer, or directly to children's hospitals.

Parents

We fund the Sydney Childrens Hospital ‘Cascade Program’, an online program named 'Cascade' (Cope, Adapt, Survive: life after Cancer) to improve parents' quality of life after cancer treatment.

This program of research aims to assist parents sustain a good quality of life during this challenging time and to help combat the potential flow-on effects poor sleep may have on the extent to which they can remain resilient when trying to cope with difficult medical outcomes, emotional distress, driving while fatigued and meeting the ongoing demands of their life (such as caring for health siblings, or maintaining work commitments). 

Cascade is delivered by a Psychologist in six weekly, 90 minute videoconferencing modules, with 3-5 parents/carers per group. The program also aims to reduce parent/carer depression and anxiety, and improve parenting competence, family functioning and child and sibling wellbeing. 

Grandparents

The Behavioural Sciences Unit (BSU) supported by Kids with Cancer Foundation, at Sydney Children’s Hospital is a team of researchers & clinicians working to find better ways for families to face childhood cancer. The Unit has developed an Information Booklet for Grandparents of children with cancer. The study therefore aimed to develop and evaluate an educational resource in the form of a printed booklet for grandparents of children with cancer and ‘A guide for Grandparents of Children with Cancer’ is the amazing result. 

Bereavement

The right help, in the right place, at the right time: The 'Compass' program, exploring the experience and needs of parents whose child has died from cancer. This research project has the potential to improve services offered to bereaved families, ensuring that they receive optimal assistance, enabling them to rebuild their lives whilst minimising the negative consequences of bereavement. 

Financial Assistance

The financial assistance available is accessed through the hospital social worker assigned to each family. The social worker will apply to us on the family's behalf and in this way the parents are relieved of the additional burden of seeking their own assistance. The family's social worker will know the family's background and current circumstances and is the best person suited to make such an application to us.  

School Tutoring

Kids with Cancer Foundation is able to help parents of cancer kids under the age of 13 with school tutoring for normal class work or music.

Many children that go through the cancer treatment journey miss out on vital schooling and when they are well enough to return to the classroom find themselves being the other children. 

Speak with your asigned social worker and have them make an application on your behalf for financial assistance for your child's tutoring.

Respite

We at Kids with Cancer Foundation realise there is an enormous amount of stress placed on parents when their young child is undergoing cancer treatment. The opportunity of being able to switch off and spend a little time together to recoup is very rare, yet it is so important.  Parents may need a night or two away in a comfortable city hotel, and a meal on us and maybe a movie if there's time.

Siblings are often overlooked when so much attention is given to the child in a hospital bed.  A Gift Voucher for the family to a nearby Theme Park from us can help those siblings have some fun once more.

Health care professionals, social workers, family members or friends can nominate a family to take advantage of the respite that we can offer.  Any nomination should come with a short explanation of the family's situation explaining how a Kids with Cancer respite voucher would benefit the family.  We will need any application to access our respite vouchers to come with a recommendation from the families social worker.