Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation – Let Them Fuel You!

What did you want to be when you grew up when you were a child? Unfortunately, there are some kids who don’t even get to think about that, as their main focus is just being able to grow up.

This month, we’re dedicating our rides to the Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation. These kids are what fuels us, and we hope their stories fuel you too.

NNCCF’s main focus is to enhance the quality of life for children with cancer and their families by providing financial assistance and compassionate support programs, all while advocating for increased research funds and raising public awareness.

Their goals are:

1. To alleviate the financial burden and emotional strain that comes with the battle against childhood cancer.

2. To enhance and expand public awareness of childhood cancer.

3. To promote research to find a cure.

4. To be proactive in assisting families throughout the treatment journey by connecting them with other national, regional and local resources.

Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation (NNCCF) assists families with everyday costs such as household living expenses, mortgage payments, rent, food, utilities, travel expenses related to treatment, medical expenses, insurance deductibles, uncovered procedures and additional expenses the family might need assistance with during a child’s treatment. They focus on children who are less than 21-years-old and who are currently in treatment for or are in follow-up care for cancer. NNCCF anticipates 40 new diagnoses of childhood cancer in 2017 and of those 40, sadly 8 will lose their fight.

Since 2009, NNCCF has helped 431 local families with over $3 million in direct financial assistance. Items such as gas, lodging, co-payments, paying mortgage assistance etc. are provided so that a parent can be by their child’s side without having to worry. Many parents or guardians have to quit their jobs due to the long duration that is required for them to be out of state at a treatment facility. When their child is beginning the process, these hospital stays can last as long as 3 months at a time. For single parents, this creates a huge financial burden.

NNCCF has raised approximately $2,402,352 million for childhood cancer research and anticipates raising another million in the next 3 years. Aside from financial assistance, they provide emotional support throughout the year.  NNCCF has a licensed social worker who handles the incoming cases and maintains the relationship with the family as their main contact with NNCCF throughout the duration of their arduous journey.

Many children will experience late-effects from treatment and chemo. These late-effects include complications with hearing, vision, dental, the reproductive system, hormone production, physical capabilities and other cancer diagnoses’ and illnesses.

At the end of the month, we will select some Full Pedal classes that will be donation based classes to raise funds for the Northern Nevada Children Cancer Foundation. We hope this month you’ll dedicate your rides to children battling cancer.