Sponsors are needed for the 6th Annual Clips for Cancer, a month-long event in September that raises money to ensure that programs and services are available for local children diagnosed with cancer at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Cancer support includes assisting with the cost of treatment, medications, mental health counseling, therapies and the addition of specialty services like pediatric neurosurgery for children with brain cancer — saving families the anxiety and expense of transporting a critically ill child to Tampa or Miami.
To raise awareness and local support in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Southwest Florida community leaders will have their heads shaved by Golisano Children’s Hospital pediatric cancer survivors live on Facebook, on Sept. 1 and Sept. 29. These leaders will be rallying to raise donations and braving the shave in a personal show of solidarity for children battling cancer and other blood disorders.
Florida Radiology Consultants is returning as the presenting sponsor for 2023, along with Great Clips as in-kind salon sponsor. Clips for Cancer sponsorship opportunities include: $25,000 for Clips Stage sponsor; $15,000 for Best Friend sponsor; $10,000 for Champion sponsor and $5,000 for Shavee sponsor. Sponsorship packages can include mention/logos on news releases, e-blasts, website, Facebook Live shaving events and event posters, tours of Golisano Children’s Hospital and the Barbara’s Friends oncology/hematology unit and other benefits.
In addition, members of the community are invited to show their support by volunteering to have their heads shaved and raising $5,000 or more to support kids with cancer and the pediatric hematology and oncology program.
Clips for Cancer aims to raise $350,000 to benefit Barbara’s Friends — Golisano Children’s Hospital’s cancer fund. The Barbara’s Friends fund has a 28-year history of helping kids with cancer and life-threatening blood disorders, ensuring that no child is denied treatment due to a family’s inability to pay. Barbara’s Friends raises roughly one million dollars annually to support lifesaving services, programs and equipment for the young patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital.
Children supported include 9-year-old Logan, who is currently being treated for a rare form of cancer at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Since he was diagnosed in 2022, Logan and his family have been determined to create something positive from their struggle. They started a fundraising campaign to raise money to help other children who are also battling cancer at Golisano Children’s Hospital.
“Our world turned upside down, and we had a million questions: Why is this happening, how do we treat it, how do we support Logan while supporting each other?” said Logan’s mother, Rachel Stryker. “It’s a difficult balancing act trying to support a family, be a mother to our other son and be a wife, while caring for a sick child. That’s where Golisano comes in. I don’t need to have it all together all the time, because Golisano Children’s Hospital has it together for us. They are the light in a very unknown path. The doctors, nurses and staff have become a second family to us, and their medical expertise is only matched by their empathy and the kindness of their hearts.”
For families, Golisano Children’s Hospital provides the necessary support and resources to help them make it through such difficult circumstances, and generous donors help ensure no family has to face a cancer diagnosis alone. Thanks to support from the community, Clips for Cancer has raised more than $975,000 in the past five years, helping hundreds of families in Southwest Florida.
Last year, the event abruptly ended due to Hurricane Ian. Immediately following the storm, Golisano Children’s Hospital used funds raised through Barbara’s Friends to help pediatric cancer families who were impacted with medical needs. The hope is to replenish the fund with support from the 2023 Clips for Cancer campaign to ensure more families have the support they need while their child battles cancer.
Funds raised through Clips for Cancer are important because:
- Golisano Children’s Hospital has more than 80 children in current treatment with close to 300 children receiving continued and follow-up care.
- More than half of Golisano Children’s Hospital’s patients are underinsured, on Medicaid or have no insurance – yet no child is denied treatment.
- The children’s hospital is one of only nine centers in Florida to offer complete pediatric cancer care.
- As a member of the Children’s Oncology Group, Golisano Children’s Hospital brings world-class cancer care close to home, offering the same treatments as other centers of excellence.
- The survival rate for pediatric cancer at the children’s hospital is 84% – higher than the national average.
- Last year 24 children rang the bell, signally the end of chemotherapy.
For information on becoming a sponsor, supporting Clips for Cancer or volunteering to participate, visit BarbarasFriends.org/ClipsForCancer or email Amy.Frith@LeeHealth.org.
About Barbara’s Friends – Helping Kids with Cancer at Golisano Children’s Hospital
Established in 1995, Barbara’s Friends provides equipment, staffing and services to support lifesaving cancer care for children from across Southwest Florida at Golisano Children’s Hospital. The Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Program is the only program of its kind in Southwest Florida and has served over 10,000 patients since opening. No child is denied treatment or turned away due to their family’s inability to pay for care. For more information about Barbara’s Friends fund and supporting child patients in your community, please call Lee Health Foundation at 239-343-6950 or visit BarbarasFriends.org.
About Golisano Children’s Hospital
Established in 1994, Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida has been named a “Top Hospital” by The Leapfrog Group for the past three years. It is the only recognized children’s hospital between Tampa and Miami. Lee Health opened the new 128-bed Golisano Children’s Hospital in May 2017, relocating the children’s hospital from the adjacent HealthPark Medical Center. It includes comprehensive pediatric services including a 24-hour pediatric emergency department, hematology-oncology unit, milk lab, Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Center, and Level II and Level III NICU with 64 private rooms. Golisano Children’s Hospital is proud to have been named Soliant’s 2018 Most Beautiful Hospital in the U.S., a recognition determined by popular vote. For more information, visit GolisanoChildrensSWFL.org.
