Organizations for Families, Friends and Communities
Alliance of
Grandparents, A Support in Tragedy (AGAST)
P.O. Box 17281
Phoenix, AZ 85011-0281
888-774-7437 (phone)/602-604-8461 (fax)
AGAST is a grandparent support group that assists all grandparents when a grandchild dies. Grandparents are helped through their grieving and given information on how to help their children (the parents). Peer contacts are available, as are support groups.
Brave Kids is dedicated to helping children with chronic, life-threatening illnesses and disabilities. The Brave Kid's team has experience ranging from health care and pediatrics to technology and website development. A full service health care community has been created to provide health care resources and support to children with special needs, their families and healthcare professionals.
CarePoints
This parent-professional partnership enables families to optimize care, find resources and support, and live out the gift and fullness of their child's life. CarePoints realizes its vision by listening to families and addressing their needs for improved care through education, leadership training, networking, resource development and advocacy within the greater Boston pediatric care community.
CoACH Care Center
(Coordinating Action for Children's Health)
7S. 721 Rt. 53
Naperville, IL 60540
630-271-9155 (phone)/630-271-9186 (fax)
This not-for-profit children's care center offers a continuum of care through coordination, training and direct patient care services at Our Children's CoACH House. This toy-filled, 5-bedroom home is where parents can leave kids with complex medical needs for up to two weeks in the care of skilled nurses and devoted volunteers. Coach House gives chronically ailing kids a home away form home and their parents some time off.
Compassionate Friends assists families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive. TCF’s success relies heavily on “seasoned grievers” reaching out to the newly bereaved so that both are helped to heal. They also offer brochures, chapter meetings, sibling chat lines, sibling newsletters and pen pal programs, and other grief-related resources.
Give Kids the World
210 S. Bass Road
Kissimmee, FL 34746
800-998-KIDS
This non-profit organization, in cooperation with a number of world-famous central Florida attractions, provides week-long vacations for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
Jacob's Heart improves the quality of life for children with cancer and eases the burdens faced by their families by providing the following services: free family counseling (bi-lingual), library and resource center, quilt program, gas and emergency transportation, pre-paid phone cards, emergency bills paid, grocery/restaurant gift certificates, and art and celebrations. Jacob's Heart serves the counties of Santa Cruz, North Monterey and San Benito, CA.
Locks of Love
2925 10th Ave, Suite 102
Lake Worth, FL 33461
888-896-1588 (phone)/561-963-9914 (fax)
This non-profit organization provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children across the U.S. under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Each hairpiece is made from real human hair, and arrives long, so the recipient can style it to compliment their face. They can swim, shower and do gymnastics -- in short, they can be kids again. Children comprise over 80% of the donors, making this a charity where children have the opportunity to help other children.
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children (under the age of 18) with life-threatening illnesses to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.
The March of Dimes devotes its efforts to saving babies from birth defects, low birth weight and death through research, education, community services and advocacy programs.
National Family
Caregivers Association (NFCA)
10400 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 500
Kensington, MD 20895-3944
800-896-3650 (phone)/301-942-2302 (fax)
NFCA is a grass roots organization created to educate, support, empower and speak up for the millions of Americans who care for chronically ill, aged or disabled loved ones.
Project Compassion
180 Providence Road, Suite 1-C
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-402-1844 (phone)/919-402-1843 (fax)
This community-based non-profit organization provides education, advocacy, support for all people as they deal with serious illness, death and grief as a natural part of life. Comprised of a group of volunteers working together, Care Teams are available to provide practical, emotional, and spiritual support for individuals and families dealing with serious illness, end of life, or grief.
SHARE provides support to those whose lives are touched by the tragic death of a baby through early pregnancy loss, stillbirth or newborn death. The support encompasses emotional, psychosocial and social healing, as well as sustaining the family unit.
www.silverliningfoundation.org
Former tennis professional, Andrea Jaeger, created this foundation to provide lifetime opportunities for children with cancer to enhance the quality of their lives. The foundation supports various programs, projects and a newsletter, including the Benedict-Forstmann Silver Ranch Program that is an all expense paid week of adventure in the therapeutically serene mountains of Aspen.
SKIP of New York (Sick
Kids need Involved People)
213 West 35th Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212-268-5999 (phone)/212-268-7667 (fax)
This non-profit organization is a service coordination agency that provides advocacy and support by accessing the necessary services for families who care for their chronically ill, medically fragile, or developmentally disabled children at home.
Starbright
Foundation
11835 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 500
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-479-1212 (phone)/310-479-1235 (fax)
By bringing together the fields of entertainment, technology and pediatric healthcare, the Starbright Foundation is dedicated to the development of projects that empower seriously ill children to combat the medical and emotional challenges they face on a daily basis.
The mission of this organization is to encourage healing among sick children by providing them physical environments that nurture them during their illness. Specifically, the organization’s volunteers transform the bedrooms of chronically ill children into magical and happy places of respite where they can rest, recover and heal. Suite Dreams currently only serves Michigan residents, but can serve as a model for other communities.
Strength for Caring
c/o Ortho Biotech
P.O. Box 6914
430 Rte. 22 East
Bridgewater, NJ 08807-0914
888-I-CARE-80
This is a community-based education and support program for caregivers sponsored by Ortho Biotech Products, L.P. These free programs are held at locations across the country and are conducted by accredited nurses or social workers who teach caregivers the skills they need to care for a loved one with cancer.
TLContact helps family and friends communicate during hospitalization of a child via a "CarePage" where updates about the child can be posted. TLContact was created by a family who used the Web to share news and receive support during the hospitalizations of their newborn son.
Tarheel Angels
Foundation
P.O. Box 3070
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-862-8230
This foundation began with parents of children treated at North Carolina Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill, and now has grown with volunteers who also care about kids with cancer. These families have faced the challenges of childhood cancer and have a unique perspective that allows them to support other kids and families.
Tu Nidito ("your little
nest")
3922 N. Mountain Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85719
520-322-9155 (phone)/520-321-0831 (fax)
The mission of this non-profit organization is to provide individual, family and group support through emotional, educational, social and spiritual services to children and their families as they deal with serious illness and death.
Victory Junction Gang
Camp
311 Branson Mill Road
Randleman, NC 27317
877-854-2267
Kyle and Pattie Petty built a racecar-themed camp for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses in memory of their son Adam. The camp is about fueling ill children with memories that will sustain and inspire them.
www.compassionatepassages.org