CURE Childhood Cancer Annual Report 2013-2014

s u p p o r t p r o g r a m s
OPEN ARMS PROGRAM
To help defray the overwhelming out-of-pocket expenses that come with lengthy hospital stays, and to
provide families with much needed one on one support and fellowship, CURE staff and volunteers serve
dinner each Thursday night and lunch each Tuesday at the Scottish Rite and Egleston campuses of the
Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. CURE staff also provide
weekly lunches to inpatient families at Children’s Memorial in Savannah. The dinners give families
welcomed opportunities to connect with other families sharing a similar journey. CURE staff and
volunteers serve not only meals, but smiles, hugs, words of encouragement. And hope.
CURE served 104 Open Arms dinners to nearly 9,000 patients, family members and hospital staff. 64
Open Arms lunches were served to 2,560 patients, family members and hospital staff. 1,847 Brown Bag
lunches, an extension of our Open Arms program, were delivered to Scottish Rite and Egleston campuses
for patient caregivers. Also, as part of our Open Arms programs, we deliver snack bags for families who
may have unexpectedly long outpatient clinic visits or unexpected hospital admissions. Or perhaps when
siblings have to come along and need a snack. In 2013-2014, we delivered 476 snack bags to families. We
also delivered toiletry bags to 210 families.
“I just want to say thank you. Sometimes we have little to no food in our room and no money to go to the
cafeteria. As a stepmother of a child with cancer, thank you so much for all you do.”
COUNSELING PROGRAM
In August 2013, CURE launched a very significant new program as a pilot, our Partners in Caring
Counseling Program. A needs assessment revealed that families were suffering emotionally from issues
arising from childhood cancer hitting their households, and many were unable to receive the professional
help they need because of the cost of counseling. CURE partnered with the Summit Counseling Center to
offer families professional counseling at little to no cost. Families were able to use the allotted counseling
sessions according to their needs — whether grief support, family counseling or individual counseling.
During our 2013-2014 pilot year, the Summit provided 38 counseling sessions. We are looking forward to
broadly expanding this program next year.
“I should have been there for my son on the night of his death. After counseling sessions, my depression
lifted completely. For two years, I knew I was stuck, and this got me moving forward again.”
BEREAVEMENT CARE
We grieve the loss of each and every child who does not survive cancer. Our hearts ache to comfort our
families when the unthinkable happens. Each year, we host a Weekend of Hope and Healing, providing
families who have lost children the opportunity to come together to remember their children and receive
tools to help them through their grief journeys. In February 2014, 121 parents attended the weekend. In
one parent’s words, “CURE was with me in the days gripped with fear and disbelief. Thank you for your
friendship, fellowship, hugs, smiles and tears.”
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