If you have been impacted by childhood cancer in any way — as a family member, friend, survivor, or part of the community — you want to be able to give back. You want to help not only the child you know going through cancer treatment but to extend hope and resources to children with cancer all around the world.
How do we do it?
Naturally, donations play a major role in support for care and research. It’s often our go-to. However, we may not have the financial means to donate or may feel our donations are too small to make a difference.
Thankfully, there are ways to support kids undergoing cancer treatments without breaking the bank. Many options for support are low or no cost to you — and that means that we can all contribute to this great team of cancer kickers!
4 FREE Ways to Support Kids with Cancer
Get Running
This one isn’t completely free, but there are ways to offset costs through race sponsors! Our biggest annual fundraiser as Cancer Kickers is the Big Buffalo 50 Ultra Marathon. Even though running a race comes with a registration fee, you can split the cost to turn this 50-mile endurance run into a relay race. (That’s also beneficial if you don’t want to run all fifty miles!)
Like any race, you can also encourage sponsors to support you and fundraise for a great cause. St. Jude does this with their races. Due to the pandemic, they are also doing virtual races that utilize GPS tracking to verify race completion. You can participate virtually anywhere!
Organizing a fundraising run or taking part in one are all great ways to raise money for cancer treatment and research...while getting in shape!
Come Together
Never underestimate the power of community. Anyone can put on a bake sale, spaghetti fundraiser, auction, or other entrepreneurial fundraisers. Get creative! So many of the things you can do to raise money for individual families or cancer research organizations are low or no cost. When the community comes together to support kids with cancer, the impact is so much greater than going at it alone.
That’s not even mentioning the sense of pride and community togetherness that comes from a successful fundraiser.
Give Blood and Marrow
There are two things you can physically donate to cancer patients without costing you a dime: blood and bone marrow. Be the Match is where you can register as a potential bone marrow donor for cancer patients in need of a genetic match. The more people that register, the more likely and quickly children and other cancer patients can find a matching donor.
Giving blood is similar. Cancer patients are susceptible to amenia and thrombocytopenia (a low platelet count). You can donate both blood and specifically platelets. It’s free to give blood and there are many places to do it. Between local blood banks and Red Cross blood drives, the opportunity is too good to be ignored.
Whether marrow, platelets, or blood, your donation can help save a life!
Give Your Time
We might not have money, but we certainly have time. Give your time to kids with cancer. This can take many different forms; writing encouraging letters, making a visit, dressing up to entertain children in the hospital (with permission, of course!), sharing facetime, or playing games.
You can take the time to make meals for families, pack care packages, offer transportation, and volunteer with community organizations. Many organizations and hospitals allow you to register as a volunteer for hospital visits as well. Not only does this offer socialization opportunities for patients, but it can allow their caregivers and families to take a break for a meal or coffee.
We often feel lost when trying to figure out how to best support kids with cancer and their families. There are so many ways to help — you just have to know where to start! We hope that this list will inspire you to innovate and take advantage of the opportunities you have to provide encouragement, support, and community for kids with cancer.
None of us are alone. Together, we make up a team that kicks cancer to the curb!