2011 Designated Giving Opportunities through The Valerie Fund
FOR CHILDREN UNDERGOING TREATMENT AND THEIR FAMILIES…

The Valerie Fund Psychosocial Services Program at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital

By providing support for the directorship of the psychosocial services program at New York Presbyterian’s pediatric oncology center, The Valerie Fund has qualitatively expanded services to children being treated for cancer and their families. Under the direction of a pediatric neuro‐psychologist actively engaged in treatment and academic research, this program is improving outcomes for thousands of children living with cancer.

Child Life Specialists at The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers

Each certified Valerie Fund Child Life Specialist (CLS) possesses the skills and knowledge to offer age‐appropriate interventions that minimize children’s fears about receiving medical treatment. This helps to optimize medical outcomes and minimize the emotional impact for the child. The CLS prepares the child for procedures, uses distraction techniques to reduce anxiety, engages the child in therapeutic play, and offers emotional support and friendship throughout the child’s course of treatment.

Social Workers at The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers

The certified Social Worker works with Valerie Fund patients, parents and families. Her overall goal is to minimize the emotional impact of the family so that parents, siblings, or others who care for the sick child are prepared and fortified to do so. Social workers help families learn to manage decisions about whether or not a parent should stop working in order to care for the sick child; manage the needs of the healthy siblings; deal with increasing financial demands due to the child’s illness; apply for additional services for the ill child; or locate emergency financial aid or, in some cases, housing. Overall, the social worker serves the roles of counselor/ therapist, liaison and advocate to help families meet an array of new and complex needs for their child and their entire families.

Transportation Fund

Reliable transportation should never be an impediment to getting a child to a Valerie Fund Center. But many parents share a car or rely solely on public transportation, an impractical and potentially unhealthy option for a child undergoing treatment. By building a transportation fund that social workers can access for families in need, patients will be assured private, comfortable and safe transportation that reflects The Valerie Fund’s philosophy of compassionate care.

Sibling Workshops

Brother and sisters of children often carry complex and competing feelings of anger, guilt and fear. Workshops conducted by social workers from Valerie Fund Children’s Centers offer a therapeutic forum for siblings to compare experiences with other children their age and receive guidance from experienced professionals. Sibling workshops send a clear reminder to brothers and sisters that they are not forgotten. These workshops help them understand the role they can play in supporting their sibling and parents without minimizing their own needs. Ideally, workshops will be conducted in two geographic locations to make them more accessible for families around the state.

Annual Sponsorship per workshop (2 available) $5,000

Joe Abrams Emergency Fund

The Joe Abrams Emergency Fund was established posthumously in memory of a longtime supporter of The Valerie Fund children. This fund helps families in financial crisis due to the economic strain placed on them as a result of their child’s illness—lost wages, increased child care costs for healthy siblings, insurance deductibles, etc. Grants help these families pay for utilities and heat, for example, or to cover a month’s rent/mortgage. It has even ensured from time to time that a family with no alternative resources can put their child to final rest with dignity.

Winter Holiday Parties

In December, each of The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers hosts a winter holiday party for patients and their families. These parties were created to ensure that every Valerie Fund child and sibling receives gifts and enjoys holiday cheer in spite of health or economic challenges they are facing. We are currently seeking 2010 sponsors for winter holiday parties at three Valerie Fund Children’s Centers: Newark Beth Israel, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Voorhees, NJ), and Monmouth Medical Center.

Annual Sponsorships sought for the following Center Holiday Parties:
Newark Beth Israel $10,000
CHOP $ 5,000
Monmouth $ 3,500
Morristown $ 6,000 SOLD!
St. Barnabas $ 5,000 SOLD!

FOR COLLEGE-BOUND VALERIE FUND PATIENTS & SURVIVORS…

Scholarship Fund

Help Valerie Fund kids fulfill the very dreams that have given them hope and strength Whether you add to our existing scholarship fund or name your own Valerie Fund scholarship, you can help Valerie Fund patients and survivors and CHT campers past and present who demonstrate financial need receive a post‐secondary education. These scholarships are designed to assist up to 20 determined young men and women attending college or university, community college or a vocational training program.

FOR VALERIE FUND CANCER SURVIVORS…

The Valerie Fund CINJ/L.I.T.E.* Program

It is estimated that in 2010, one of every 250 young adults will be a cancer survivor due to life‐saving medical advances. At the same time, these men and women are at risk for serious health, emotional, educational, career and financial challenges as a result of their illness, which are referred to as “late effects.” The Valerie Fund/CINJ L.I.T.E. Program was established at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) in 2009 so that childhood cancer survivors who were treated at Valerie Fund Children’s Centers can be evaluated and monitored for “late effects” by a team of clinicians with expertise in pediatric cancer survivorship issues. The team, which includes a pediatric oncologist, a nurse practitioner, a social worker and nutritionist, will review each patient’s history, conduct an examination and provide referrals to specialists for physical, emotional and other issues they have experienced or are at risk of experiencing. By adding The Valerie Fund/CINJ L.I.T.E. Program to our menu of programs and services, The Valerie Fund now supports the full continuum of care for children with cancer—from diagnosis to treatment to survivorship.

*Long-term information, treatment effects
For more information, please contact:
Lori Abrams, Director of Development
973‐761‐0422
LAbrams@TheValerieFund.org

The Valerie Fund
2101 Millburn Avenue, Maplewood, New Jersey 07040
(973) 761‐0422 ◦ www.TheValerieFund.org