Our mission at Cancer Kickers Soccer Club is to provide Comfort, Community, and Connections to children 18 years old or younger fighting cancer. We do this by providing them with a team to be a part of and matching jerseys with their own unique numbers. Each donation made to our organization goes directly towards providing a child with cancer a kit and a spot on our team, free of charge to them and their family. This is our way of providing support and showing love to the kids and families battling childhood cancer diagnoses.
Here are five great non-profit organizations that, like us, have their own way of helping those dealing with pediatric illnesses.
1. Alex's Lemonade Stand (ALSF)
This organization was started in 2005 in an effort to continue the inspiring idea that four-year-old Alex introduced when she made a lemonade stand in her front yard years before, to help raise money for a cure for childhood cancer.
Their mission is “to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer”.
The money they have raised equals more than $200 million, and they use this to help fund research and to help support families with children who are receiving treatment.
ALSF is a great non-profit that is one that we at Cancer Kickers truly admire and use as an inspiration for our own outreach.
Visit the Alex’s Lemonade Stand website: https://www.alexslemonade.org/about/our-mission-history
2. St. Jude's Children Research Hospital
St. Jude’s is a non-profit that is one of the most well-known organizations for childhood cancer support. Like the other organizations mentioned here, their donations are used to benefit children and their families when dealing with cancer diagnoses. More specifically, By supporting St. Jude’s, children are given treatment free of charge.
Their mission is to “advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research treatment.” Overall, they provide the funds for families to support their children through treatment, but without having to open their wallets even once.
St. Jude’s does a tremendous job providing and supporting families in need of extra love during an already hard time in their lives. We highly value what they stand for and do!
To learn more visit: https://www.stjude.org/about-st-jude/why-support-st-jude.html
3. Room to Dream Foundation
Room to Dream works as a foundation to better the environment that children with chronic illnesses live in. This can be where they are getting treatment, their home, or anywhere else that they spend their time.
Their mission is to “create healing environments in bedrooms for children and adolescents who are facing chronic illnesses. As they recuperate and recover, our hope is that their renovated spaces will improve their quality of life, promote strength, imagination, self-worth, and aid in their recovery processes”.
As a non-profit, the money that is donated to their foundation will be used to help renovate and re-design the living spaces of the children nominated.
This foundation does what the show Extreme-Home Makeover did, but instead for children with chronic illnesses and their families. We find the mission of Room to Dream life-changing and a great way to make sure that these kids feel special, and full of inspiration.
For more information visit their website: https://roomtodreamfoundation.org/about/
4. Make-A-Wish Foundation
Oftentimes, kids dream big. When children are diagnosed with a critical illness, their dreams are sometimes put on hold, because of their treatment, medical expenses, health, etc., making these sometimes not completely reachable. Make-A-Wish takes the dreams of children battling critical illnesses and makes them happen.
Examples of wishes granted include; family trips to Disney World, a meet & greet with a favorite celebrity or singer, a backyard makeover, a family dog, a princess for a day, and a day in the snow. The wish possibilities are endless, and Make-A-Wish Foundation does it all free of cost to the families.
Their mission is that “together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.”
Make-A-Wish takes the money they raise through donations to grant thousands of wishes. These wishes not only bring an immense amount of joy to the children battling these illnesses, but also to their families. This foundation provides families with life-changing moments, experiences, trips, and more that ultimately brings them strength, support, love, and overall motivation to keep fighting.
We at Cancer Kickers are inspired by this foundation, and love that what they do is simply make dreams come true. Our goal is for our organization to do a similar job, but instead in helping to make a child’s soccer dreams come true!
Make-A-Wish Foundation’s website: https://wish.org/
5.Starlight
Starlight is a very unique non-profit. Unlike other organizations, the money donated is used to help “entertain, distract, and inspire” children with illnesses during treatment and when hospitalized. Their programs include Virtual Reality, Hospital Wear, and Gaming, in addition to providing fun and relaxing spaces in hospitals for the whole family, and toy deliveries.
These programs deliver hospitalized children joy when they need it the most. The list of what they offer includes; gaming hubs and devices, VR and Nintendo video games/apps, Netflix and Hulu streaming, special comfy and fun colored gowns, lounge spaces, and special toy, books, crafts and other item deliveries for their treatments and hospital stays. All in all, Starlight uses these to support children battling cancer and other serious illnesses in their own fun and special way.
Starlight has used its donations to bring happiness to 17 million-plus kids and families. CKSC fully appreciates the uniqueness that they have used to comfort so many people dealing with serious illnesses.
Visit their website: https://www.starlight.org/
We at Cancer Kickers Soccer Club support these non-profits, are inspired by them and are honored to work side-by-side with them in efforts to deliver love and support to children and families during their biggest time of need and comfort.