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Our Mission
We are here to create hope. Regardless of the
age of the child, the diagnosis of a pediatric brain
stem tumor is devastating for the child, for the family,
for the friends, schoolmates, and the communities within
which these children live and grow. After meeting
with a pediatric neuro-oncologist, after hearing the
painful and hopeless prognosis, after having the
prognosis confirmed by second, third, and fourth
opinions, little can be done to comfort the families
that have been told that their child will die. If
you ask any parent, the one and only request that they
have is to have a treatment that will cure their child,
or at least give a meaningful extension of their life.
In short, they want hope. And that is the mission
of Jenny’s Quest.
Jenny’s Quest will create hope for tomorrow by
raising money to support innovative research today.
Although supporting research is the most important
thing that Jenny’s Quest does, it is not enough.
Despite the lack of a cure today, we can make a
difference by helping children and families cope by
finding ways to express their love, their fear, their
hope; by finding ways to connect with others who can
understand and help diminish the isolation of being
affected by this kind of disease; by feeling empowered
with information to assist in the difficult decisions
about how, when and where to have a child treated, and
how best to support a child during the medically and
emotionally difficult period of treatment.
In addition to supporting innovative research:
Jenny’s Quest will help make today matter for the
children and families affected by this disease.
How will we help make today matter? We will
create an outreach program and supporting website for
children and their families. With adequate funding
and support, our program and our website (www.jennysquest.com)
will offer:
Jenny’s Art Studio: Any and
every child diagnosed with brain stem cancer will be
sent a package of art supplies, a list of art projects
(painting, sculpture, crafts), and a “code” to get
access to upload pictures of their projects to the
website; a series of art projects will be available to
help children and siblings express their emotions in
confronting the disease.
Jenny’s Writing Workshop: Any and every child
diagnosed with brain stem cancer will be sent a writing
kit (pens, pencils, diary, etc.), a list of writing
projects, and an access code to upload their writing
projects to the website. For children too young to
write, instructions will be provided to parents who can
become the scribe for their children’s words.
Jenny’s Parents Place: Within 24 hours of verified
notice, Jenny’s Quest will send a support package to the
parent/family of each diagnosed child. The support
package will include: 30 days of food support (5 days
per week for 6 weeks of radiation; financial support for
travel to-and-from treatment centers; information on how
to find a specialist to treat your child; an iPod for
the child to listen to music during treatments or trips
to the doctor; and a “How to Take Care of Yourself to
Take Care of Your Child” page for parents.
Read About Our Vision »
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