Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for children with cancer and their families by providing financial assistance and compassionate support programs while advocating for increased research funds and raising public awareness.
NNCCF will provide help, hope and courage so that no family faces childhood cancer alone. Our vision is to enrich the lives of children and their families who are diagnosed with cancer in the northern Nevada region. We will do this by striving to ease the heavy financial and emotional burden that these families face. We will educate our community so that, together we can dedicate more resources to put toward the fight. We will support research so that our children receive the best possible treatment, and one day, a cure will be found.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Through its Family Assistance Fund, NNCCF assists families with everyday costs such as household living expenses, mortgage payments, rent, food, utilities, travel expenses related to treatment, medical expenses, insurance deductibles, uncovered procedures and additional expenses the family might need assistance with during a child’s treatment.
We focus on children who are less than 25 years old and who are currently in treatment for or are in follow-up care for cancer in northern Nevada.
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
When a child is diagnosed with cancer the whole family is diagnosed. The battle can be devastating to patients, parents and siblings. NNCCF recognizes this battle and strives to support families through this. Our organization provides emotional support through family counseling at no cost to the family. We work with a number of local therapists that will meet with parents, the child in treatment and siblings, either together or separately, to guide them through the challenges and concerns that arise along the cancer journey.
Meeting and talking with other families who have a child with cancer can be another effective way to cope with difficult situations. NNCCF organizes family outings throughout the year to help provide an opportunity for families to meet others and to allow patients, their siblings and parents to enjoy an activity together without sweating the cost or details. Sometimes families forget — or are unable — to do the simple things like go to a baseball game, go fishing, or go miniature golfing. NNCCF has faithful community partners that provide opportunities for these outings for our families at no cost.
RESEARCH
In a perfect world, organizations like ours would not be needed. Children would never have to worry about how they will look with no hair and if they will make it to their first prom. Since this world is yet to be perfect and kids everyday are being faced with grown-up worries, we put a great importance on allocating funds toward cancer research.
All types of childhood cancers combined receive only 4 percent of U.S. federal funding for cancer research.
Every year, NNCCF partners with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, one of the nations leaders in funding and facilitating the research of childhood cancer.
ADVOCATE
Each June, NNCCF representatives along with northern Nevada children with cancer and their families travel to Washington, D.C.
The group joins hundreds of other survivors, patients, families and advocates across the nation to meet with legislators and educate them on the need to support increased federal funding for childhood cancer research.
NEWS AND AWARENESS
One of NNCCF’s goals is to enhance and expand public awareness of childhood cancer. Our staff, board members and volunteers meet with lawmakers and media, distribute gold ribbon pins with facts about childhood cancer and distribute posters explaining the signs and symptoms of childhood cancer.
In addition, NNCCF hosts community events throughout the year including:
• Know the Gold
• St. Baldrick’s Brave the Shave
• All in for Childhood Cancer Poker Tournament
• Tournament of Hope.
For more information visit www.nvchildrenscancer.org.
