Agency
Address:
PO Box32
Wilton
06897
Mission Statement:
Our Mission is to provide immediate and ongoing peer support to families of children with cancer. Our programs are designed to provide families with everyday essentials to ease the burden of hospitalization, facilitate research and communication with family and friends, brighten a sick childﾒs room, and generally support the family through the difficult days following a cancer diagnosis
Agency Contact Information
Contact:
Stacey Savas
Contact Email:
staceysavas@optonline.net
Contact Phone:
203 663-6893
Website:
Agency Details
Circle of Care for families of children with cancer, inc.
Circle of Care for families of children with cancer is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit , all volunteer organization founded in 2003 by three local mothers of children with cancer to provide practical, emotional and financial support to other families facing pediatric cancer, from the day of diagnosis throughout treatment. Our six well-received programs have expanded dramatically and become integral to the experience of Connecticut and Westchester County, New York families of children with cancer.
Our programs to assist families include the following:
1. Bags of Love reach patients at the time of diagnosis ﾖ at the first hospital admission. Each Bag of Love is filled with necessities such as meal vouchers, parking passes, phone cards, a toy or book for the child, and personal care items.
2. Lifeline is a telephone mentor program for newly diagnosed families.
3. The Connexions program provides laptop computers to the hospitals for in-patient use, giving each family internet access to stay connected with siblings, friends and school and to allow parents to research their childrenﾒs cancers while in-patient.
4. Circle of Care volunteers are active at Yale New Havenﾒs Smilow Cancer Center and their outpatient clinic in Guilford, giving caretakers much-needed breaks and providing a diversion for children receiving treatment.
5. Art from the Heart transforms cancer patientsﾒ home bedrooms into personal dream rooms. Dream rooms are offered by lottery three times a year and teen and adult volunteers do all of the work.
6. Lifeline Emergency Fund is a financial assistance program aimed at alleviating some of the financial difficulties many families experience when their children are undergoing treatment for cancer. It is this program we are requesting for support from the Exchange Club of new Canaan.
Circle of Care has also written and published The Purple Pages, an extensive guide to resources available to the families of Connecticut children with cancer. Active in 2007, and redesigned in 2010 to be more user friendly and interactive, Circle of Careﾒs website provides online information and support.