Strut for Kids has a New Home!

Since CCP expanded across the entire Carolinas, our two organizations have been helping many of the same Cape Fear Region families, causing them to duplicate their efforts in seeking help, and not always coordinating our support for best results.  Our missions are so alike that there was no sense in working in parallel.  By combining, Strut’s benefits from the structure and professional staffing of CCP while CCP is strengthened by Strut’s dedicated volunteers across Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender Counties.

The primary and driving goal is to integrate Strut for Kids with Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas (CCP), creating a holistic and supportive approach to families battling cancer. Existing synergies and program alignment became apparent during the merger consideration process and continue to emerge. This process indicated that the programs should integrate, not just co-exist under the same organizational umbrella.

The immediate impact of this merger will be subtle, mostly affecting the day-to-day work of CCP staff and Strut volunteers, but rapidly the estimated 70 Cape Fear Region children/families will find it easier to receive the full support of our combined organizations.  Over time, we hope to spread the wonderful Strut for Kids 5-K events across the Carolinas, and to introduce CCP’s Kidz in Lids events into Cape Fear Region schools.

The most obvious measures are cost-efficiency, simplification for families and confidence that by working together we are meeting all the needs of the children for access to treatment.  Beyond that, our goals are the same for every child:

A. Ensuring every child has equal access to the current standard of care, and to specialized or experimental clinical trial care should available treatments prove insufficient

B. Prevention of the spiral-to-poverty that too often occurs when childhood cancer puts families into an emotional and financial pressure-cooker – one parent leaving work while bills grow and treatment expenses far out-strip even the finest insurance coverages

C. Continued 90% or greater HIGH satisfaction rating from families we support, and the hospital professionals who refer them to us in an INDEPENDENTLY conducted satisfaction survey

D. Assistance in the ultimate tragedy of a child lost to cancer

E. Continuous support beyond cancer treatment, into the lifelong challenges encountered by childhood cancer survivors

A cancer diagnosis can be devastating for anyone. When it involves a child, it is particularly jolting. In the Carolinas, over 700 children receive that terrifying diagnosis each year, causing families to come face to face with the number one disease killer of children.

Children are referred to CCP by social workers at their pediatric oncology treatment centers. After identifying specific needs, CCP immediately provides needed assistance, and continues to partner with them throughout their childhood cancer journey until the child reaches the age of 21.

These families face financial hardships due to caregiving needs and lost work/wages. Three-fourths of them will experience the loss of 50% or more household income,  and nearly one in three families will not not be able to meet their basic needs. Fortunately, families across the Carolinas grappling with a childhood cancer diagnosis have a strong partner for their journey – Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas.

CCP provides families with the funds needed for transportation, lodging, and food associated with vital cancer treatments. Because the number of hospitals in the Carolinas that provide pediatric cancer care is limited, families must travel great distances frequently to obtain the lifesaving treatment their children need. Some are referred to children’s hospitals in New York, Philadelphia, Houston and elsewhere.

Explore this entire website for more information about Children’s Cancer Partners and how they will continue to support you and your family on your journey.