Circle of Care for Families of Children with Cancer

Mission Circle of Care provides practical, emotional, and financial support to families of children, adolescents, and young adults, facing a pediatric cancer diagnosis. We believe that the path to healing extends beyond medicine and we offer services tailored to address the distinct and demanding, non-medical challenges families encounter throughout their entire journey with pediatric cancer. Programs Our CARE model is meticulously crafted and is based on three core pillars of support: emotional, practical, and financial. These pillars serve as the cornerstone of our unwavering dedication to being a steadfast resource for families, not just during the treatment phase, but throughout their entire journey-from the moment of diagnosis and beyond. Grounded in first-hand experience, our co-founders, who are parents of children with cancer, foster a culture of empathy and understanding. Our model involves seamless coordination with medical professionals fostering valuable partnerships with hospitals and forming personal connections with families. Community engagement through volunteerism enriches our services, creating a holistic ecosystem that empowers families to navigate challenges with confidence, while ensuring they never feel alone in their struggle. Bags of Love: When kids are diagnosed with cancer they are often hospitalized immediately, leaving parents little time to prepare. Our canvas totes are delivered to the hospital on the day of diagnosis. Each bag includes the items necessary to help the family transition to hospital life: personal care items, phone chargers, reusable water bottles, a fuzzy blanket and pillowcase, comfort items, and our resource directory, The Purple Pages. Lifeline Emergency Fund: This emergency financial program provides direct financial assistance to help families in financial crisis meet their basic needs (e.g., rent or mortgage payments, food, utilities, transportation) by paying bills directly to creditors. Lifeline Parent Community: We understand the power of support from other families who have or are currently facing a pediatric cancer journey so we offer opportunities for families to meet and connect with one another outside the medical environment. We bring families together hosting them for fun family events including: Thanksgathering, a day of fun activities during the holiday season; at a special tent for families to find one another at our annual 5K; and at a family fun day during childhood cancer awareness month in September. We also connect families through a support network that connects newly diagnosed families with past and present Circle of Care families. Matches are made by age and diagnosis. Hospital Volunteer Program: Our specially trained volunteers at Yale New Haven Smilow Cancer Center provide welcome diversions and respites during long hours of treatment. Art from the Heart: Kids in treatment are often unable to attend school regularly and spend long stretches of time isolated at home. COC trained volunteer teams work to transform a cancer patient's room at home into a personal wonderland with paint, fabrics, and boundless imagination. The program provides an enormous emotional boost to patients, siblings, and families, giving them something to look forward to as they endure lengthy treatments. Adolescent and Young Adult Programming (AYA): Introduced in 2021 to support the needs of youth (15-26) in treatment for cancer during a developmental stage when critical milestones are often interrupted (e.g. driving, education, proms, graduations, career development, etc.). This group is too mature for most activities in the hospital geared toward children and not yet ready for adult clinical care. This unique population is offered an opportunity to join us for quarterly adventures (ie: sporting or theatrical events, bowling, skill building opportunities) allowing them to connect with each other for fun and camaraderie during this crucial developmental stage. We also provide support to our young adult community through financial awards to assist with their higher education. Each recipient, ages 17- 23, has undergone or is currently in cancer treatment and must be accepted into a 2 or 4 year college. In June of each year, we hold a celebration ceremony honoring their accomplishment of completing their secondary education while facing the challenges of cancer. Additional Services: Birthday Box - Mailed at the beginning of each month our kids in treatment with upcoming birthdays will receive a "Birthday Box" to let them know Circle of Care is thinking about them. We believe in celebrating every kid in our Circle! Bereavement - support includes a personalized card and forget-me-not pin for families whose child's journey has ended. Respite Support- Free weekend get-away for families in need in the Berkshires. Education: Our Life Within the Journey photojournalistic educational exhibit has been and is available for display at venues including libraries, stores, art galleries and has even been on display at the Capitol in Hartford.