COURAGE WISDOM HONESTY STRENGTH the four diamonds fund

COURAGEWISDOMHONESTYSTRENGTHthe four diamonds fundat Penn State Hershey Children's HospitalCONOUERING CHILDHOOD CANCER

Community CompassionThe Four Diamonds Fund would not be what it is today withoutthe continued support of the entire community. When the Fundwas establish ed in 1972, donations the first year totaled $4,000.Through the generosity of so many, Tke Four Diamonds Fundhas flourished. Schools, civic groups, churches, corporations,and generous individuals now contribute more than $2 milliona year.In 1977,The Four Diamonds Fund began its affiliation withthe Penn State lFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THONTM),the nation's largest student-run philanthropy. ln that time,THON, as it's affectionately known, has contributed morethan $60 million to The Four Diamonds Fund and has inspiredstudents of all ages to raise more than $3 million throughmini-thons and other school fundraisers. As Charles Millard,co-founder of The Four Diamonds Fund stated, "THON breathelile into The four Diamonds Fund.''The support of the community is stil1 neededso that we can continue to help families, anr. one day, find a cure for pediatric cancer.

Our MissionThe mission of The Four Diamonds Fund is to conouerchildhood cancer by assisting children treated at Penn StateHershey Children's Hospipl and their families throughsuperior care, comprehensive support, and innovativeresearch. The Fund ensures that any expense associatedwith the care and treatment of children with cancer at PennState Hershey Children's Hospital will not become a financialburden for the patients and their families.Any medical expense not covered by insurance or other meansis paid for by the Fund. Additional money is allocated to helpfamilies with other costs of care, including prescription copays,dietary supplements, transportation expenses associatedwith treatment, meal cards for families while they are stayingat Children's Hospital, and emergency coverage of householdexpenses. Families can concentrate on their childs healthrather than worrying about the staggering costs of care.Additionally, the Fund supports staff including pediatricnurse specialists, social workers, child life specialists, clinicalresearch associates, a clinical nutritionist, a music therapist,a clinical psychologist, and a chaplain. Led by our pediatriconcologists, this team seeks to provide our patients and theirfamilies with the professional and emotional support theyneed during treatment.The Four Diamonds Fund also supports research throughstart-up grants and through the creation of the Four DiamondsPediatric Cancer Research Endowment and the ExperimentalTherapeutics Research Endowment.The Pediatric Cancer Research Endowment supports twofully-staffed and fully equipped research laboratories at PennState College of Medicine. The Experimental TherapeuticsResearch Endowment provides support for the developmentof new therapies for children with cancer from the laboratorybench to the clinic. This involvbs support ofbench research toidentify new targets for drugs to treat childhood malignancies,the development of new drugs and other therapeuticmodalities directed to those targets, and clinical researchstudies to test new drugs and experimental therapies.COURAGE . WISDOM . HONESTY . STRENGTHThe quest for a cure for pediatric cancer continues andwe grow closer every day through research.