Children and Families
Disclaimer: These resources are regularly reviewed to ensure that links still work correctly and the resources listed continue to be helpful to our visitors. If you find that a link isn't working or information is incorrect or if you'd like to have your own organization listed here, please email thedirectory@lls.org.
Because we want to be sure that our visitors find the most relevant resources, we've listed these organizations in order of relevancy from most specifically relevant to most generally relevant to the topic of this page.
CancerCare
Contact: (800) 813-4673
Population served: Pediatric patients and family members in the United States
CancerCare provides free, professional support services to anyone affected by cancer: people with cancer, caregivers, children, loved ones and the bereaved.
- CancerCare for Kids provides counseling to children and support to parents online, by telephone or face to face
Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation
Contact: (800) 238-6479 or (717) 545-7600
Population served: Children, infancy through age 17 diagnosed with cancer, in the United States
Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation strives to touch the lives of those living with cancer with a positive, uplifting message through a variety of unique programs.
- Bear-Able Bags Program provides items to hospitals that children and teens enjoy such as board games, hand-held games, dolls, cards, coloring books, crayons, markers, puzzles, stuffed animals and more. Cancer Recovery Foundation works with over 200 oncology centers nationwide
- Camp Scholarships Program provides scholarship assistance to help children to experience therapeutic riding, music, art, skiing and other types of camps and activities
The National Children's Cancer Society (NCCS)
Contact: (800) 532-6459
Population served: Cancer patients up to age 21 (must have diagnosed before the age of 18) worldwide
NCCS provides programs and services to improve the quality of life for children diagnosed with cancer and their families.
- Provides a teleconference information series for parents and healthcare professionals
- Provide information for parents and survivors regarding cancer's impact
- Offers information for parents and survivors regarding employment and health insurance
- Offers a listing of long-term survivorship clinics
Kids Konnected
Contact: (800) 899-2866
Population served: Children, ages 3 to 19, who have a parent diagnosed with cancer or have lost a parent to cancer in the United States
Kids Konnected provides friendship, understanding, education and support for kids and teens who have a parent with cancer or have lost a parent to cancer.
- Provides a call center for children/teens where they can speak to a youth leader or clinical social worker
- Offers support groups at limited locations
- Provides information and resources for parents on how to talk to their children about cancer
- Offers an Email-a-Therapist option
American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO)
(formerly known as Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation)
Contact: (855) 858-2226
Population served: Children with cancer, siblings and families in the United States and Canada
The mission of ACCO is to provide information and awareness for children and adolescents with cancer and their families, to advocate for their needs and to support research.
- Provides affiliates who work with local communities to support families
- Provides an online community for kids, online list serve
- Provides health information for kids, teens and siblings
- Provides advocacy
Children's Wish Foundation International, Inc. (CWFI)
Contact: (800) 323-9474
Population served: Children under age 18 with a life-threatening illness, worldwide
CWFI fulfills wishes for children and unlike other wish-granting organizations, does not have a minimum age. However, if the child's health allows it, the wish fulfillment is reserved until the child is old enough to fully enjoy and remember the experience.
- Offers Wish Fulfillment Program, which provides a trip to a destination of the patient's choice and includes travel arrangements, lodging, entertainment tickets, expense money and volunteer support
- Offers the Family Focus Program, which provides a memorable evening out. CWFI offers gift cards and certificates for families to enjoy a special dinner together or a trip to a local family entertainment center, theater tickets or entrance to sporting events, a circus, etc. In addition, CWFI arranges for weekend getaways
- Offers Hospital Enrichment Program, which places educational and entertainment materials in hospitals that care for children (toys, books, electronics, dolls and children's clothing). In addition, CWFI hosts festive parties at many hospitals
- Offers Young Minds Program for children under age 3 or whose cognitive level is under age 3. This program can offer:
- TV with DVD player and DVD collection
- CD player with music collection
- Toy and doll collection
- Comfort station with rocker
- Activity assortment
SuperSibs!
Contact: (888) 417-4704
Population served: Children between ages 4 and 18 who have a sibling with cancer in the United States and Canada
SuperSibs! is dedicated to ensuring ongoing comfort, recognition and support to children with brothers and sisters with cancer.
- Provides online education, resource materials and support tools
- Offers free Comfort & Care Packages by way of ongoing mailings that include, among other things, education materials, support books, custom-designed and age-appropriate journals, guides, newsletters, guided imagery CDs, courage trophies and beads of courage
- Provides outreach and education through a speaker's bureau, sibling star kit for hospitals and organizations, a SuperSibs! TEAM Toolkit for teachers/educators and partnership conferences and programs
Cure Search
Contact: (800) 458-6223
Population served: Children with cancer who are 20 and younger, parents worldwide
CureSearch unites the world's largest childhood cancer research organization, the Children's Oncology Group (COG) and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation through its mission to cure childhood cancer.
- Has an advocacy department that works with families in crisis
- Provides treatment and survivorship information
- Offers support to communities and schools for issues relating to education
- Identifies COG institutions by state in addition to international hospitals
Pediatric Oncology Resource Center
Population served: Parents, friends and families of children who have or had childhood cancer in the United States
Pediatric Oncology Resource Center is sponsored by the Association of Cancer Online Resources and provides a compilation of cancer information.
The website provides Internet links to the following:
- Family support services
- Information on cancers
- Treatment issues
- Survivorship issues
- Grief and loss resources
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)
Contact: (800) 695-0285
Population served: Anyone in the United States with a focus on children and youth (birth to age 22) with disabilities and their education needs
NICHCY serves as a clearinghouse for information and resources on education services and laws for children who have learning disabilities.
- Provides a call center
- Provides information on disabilities in children and youth, programs and services for infants, children and youth with disabilities and IDEA, the nation's special education law
- Provides information on No Child Left Behind, the nation's general education law
Childhood Leukemia Foundation (CLF)
Contact: (888) 253-7109
Population served: Children with cancer (aged newborn to 21) and their families in the United States
CLF offers a wide range of services at no charge. The goal is to make sure children with cancer know that they are not alone.
- Provides CLF Hope Binder, a tool designed to help parents manage information related to their child's care, including worksheets and resources to help document treatment protocols, medicines, doctor's appointments, lab results, physicians, hospitals, nutrition concerns and insurance benefits
- The binder also includes free telephone calling cards and informational booklets
Starlight Children's Foundation
Contact: (310) 479-1212
Population served: Children through age 18 with a chronic, life-threatening illness or a life-altering injury in the United States
The Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children by providing entertainment, education and family activities.
- Offers information about disease, treatment and coping strategies (sometimes offered as a computer game)
- Offers Starbright World, an online social network for teens and their siblings
- Offers Great Escapes, events for Starlight families which include ball games, picnics, cruises, spa days and movie premieres
Working Against Cancer (WAC)
Contact: (626) 914-2914
Population served: Children, adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer in the United States
WAC helps individuals navigate their way through the upheaval that accompanies a cancer diagnosis in order to become self-reliant individuals with independent, productive lives.
- Provides a national mentoring program matching young oncology survivors with screened, trained and supervised mentors who are cancer survivors and recognize the psychosocial concerns of patients and survivors
HelpPRO
Contact: (800) 652-0155
Population served: People in search of mental health services in the United States
HelpPRO provides the public with a way to identify and access the services of mental health clinicians and organizations.
- Provides assistance in identifying mental health clinicians either through their website tool or through a representative reached at their toll-free phone number
- Provides detailed information on thousands of mental health professionals, their services and their organizations
- Includes information about the professional's particular areas of expertise, accessibility, insurance accepted and much more
- As an expression of gratitude to U.S. returning soldiers, hundreds of the therapists listed in HelpPro, provide one free hour of counseling each week to them and their families. To identify these therapists, please go to the "Advanced Search" section of the website and select this under "free services."
Give an Hour (GAH)
Population served: The United States military troops and their families who are affected by the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are in need of mental health services
Give an Hour is a community focused organization that provides military troops and their families with free mental health services through licensed mental health professionals who donate their time and expertise. The participating mental health professionals offer a wide range of services including individual, marital and family therapy, substance abuse counseling, treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and counseling for individuals with traumatic brain injuries. In exchange, individuals who receive services will be given the opportunity to give an hour back in their own communities through volunteer opportunities.
- Provides a "Basic Search" tool, which allows the user to choose from a short list of fields to identify providers in the area
- Provides the "Guided Search" tool, which asks a series of questions to help find providers in the area that best suit the user's situation
The National CML Society (NCMLS)
Contact: (877) 431-2573
Population served: CML patients, their families and caregivers in the United States
The NCMLS mission is to provide educational resources, access to CML specialists/experts and a network of others to share personal experiences.
- Provides extensive glossary of CML terms and CML information
- Provides assistance researching and helping find financial assistance
- Provides peer matching program and has a Counselor Advisor to assist in locating mental health resources
- Provides resources for the caregiver, including ways to connect with other caregivers
- Provides CMLConnection, a listing of support groups
Patient Resource Publishing
Contact: (816) 333-3595, ext. 26
Population served: People diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers in the United States
Patient Resource Publishing produces a free resource guide and offers a companion website, MyCancerAdvisor.com, which is a portal of web information. The primary objective of both is to empower the community in the fight against cancer.
The Patient Resource Cancer Guide assists to empower and prepare newly diagnosed and newly restaged cancer patients in becoming their own advocates. This guide, which may be ordered via telephone or through the website, provides:
- Encouraging stories of survival
- Detailed sections about treatment options and clinical trials
- Patient-focused information regarding cancer treatment facilities
- List of organizations that are resources for cancer-specific information
The website MyCancerAdvisor.com provides:
- Current medical journal articles about cancer advances, including clinical trials
- Information on some disease-specific cancers
- Links to videos on different topics
