5 years, 9 selections, $1,036 in donations
Since August 2019, the American Childhood Cancer Organization has been selected to benefit from the Giant Food Community Bag Program nine times at three different Giant Food locations. In total, the organization has received $1,036 in donations to continue improving the lives of young cancer patients and their families by providing educational resources, supporting research, and raising cause awareness.
Tell us about the American Childhood Cancer Organization.
The American Childhood Cancer Organization was founded in 1970 by a group of dedicated parents whose children had cancer. Interestingly enough, the parents didn’t realize that all their kids were fighting cancer because it was incredibly taboo at the time. The parents all met in the basement of Children’s National in Washington, D.C., to disseminate information from library books. From there, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation was born. In 2010, the organization changed its name to the American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO). It was successfully rebuilt after restructuring in the mid 1990’s.
Today, we are the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated to childhood cancer. Our mission is to make childhood cancer a national priority by raising awareness, supporting research, and providing educational resources to kids with cancer and their families. It’s a wonderful cause to work for because we’re constantly trying to push for additional funding for childhood cancer research at the local, national, and federal levels.
Our mission is to make childhood cancer a national priority by raising awareness, supporting research, and providing educational resources to kids with cancer and their families.
What services do you provide to the community?
Our resources program provides free specialized materials to families directly, while our advocacy program secures critical research funding in pursuit of less toxic treatments for cancer’s smallest patients.
ACCO is known for its free resources. Parents can register their children, or staff can register their patients for our resource program. We are the largest publisher of books specific to childhood cancer. Not only do we give young patients books, but we also give all kids registered for our resource program, Cozy the Port-a-Cat. Cozy is a stuffed cat that was designed to teach kids about cancer. This companion and teaching tool is meant to be with the child before, during, and after treatment.
Cozy’s patches represent port access, bone marrow aspirate, spinal tap, gastronomy tube, and a hand IV. Along with the stuffed animal, we give children medical play kits with 26 pieces, such as a stethoscope and catheter. Using Cozy and the play kit, kids are able to perform any procedure that they will have on Cozy first. This way, young patients know what to expect and can visually see how their doctors will help them. We also distribute emotional support kits, which help kids express their emotions.
Advocacy has been at the heart of the American Childhood Cancer Organization’s mission since the organization began in 1970. We work at the local, state, and federal levels to advocate for childhood cancer research. With ACCO’s “What About Kids?” advocacy initiative, our goal is to secure 25 states appropriating funds for childhood cancer by 2030. To date, we have secured nearly $120,000 in research funding.
This way, young patients know what to expect and can visually see how their doctors will help them.
How has the American Childhood Cancer Organization used the donations from the Giant Food Community Bag Program to further its mission?
Donations that have been raised through this program go directly to the kids we serve. These funds may support printing and distributing books, acquiring new resources, and shipping our Cozy Port-a-Cats to new children.
Tell us a story about the impact of a program, service, or initiative that the Giant Food Community Bag Program has supported through these donations.
One young boy named Jackson was diagnosed with leukemia and was extremely anxious about hospital visits and procedures. He received the medical play kit and the Cozy Port-a-Cat from us and began using the stethoscope routinely during playtime. Becoming familiar with the instruments really helped to calm him and reduce his stress.
We worked with another little girl who had severe, sustained burns in her mouth from cancer treatments. Because of the pain she was in, she was really afraid to have her temperature taken. When she got the medical play kit, it helped her get over that fear and made it easier for the staff to help her.
Have you noticed any changes in community awareness or support since becoming involved in the Giant Food Community Bag Program?
We have noticed an increase in community engagement and support! It introduced new people to our organization. We have even had quite a few new volunteers who found out about us through the program that we would have never been able to reach before.
This program has been a really great experience because it has helped raise a greater awareness of all of the challenges that childhood cancer patients and families face. For us, seeing the community show support through this program has been incredibly meaningful. It is a great way to make a difference together.
This program has been a really great experience because it has helped raise a greater awareness of all of the challenges that childhood cancer patients and families face.
As a successful nonprofit partner, what is one piece of advice you would give to other nonprofits participating in the Giant Food Community Bag Program?
We share our involvement with the program on our website, social media, and through our email list. We use these channels to highlight the impact Giant Food is making for us. The Community Bag Program has really helped to increase our local support network and raised awareness within the DMV area.
Interview with Blair Scroggs, Public Relations Coordinator