Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta

March is Child Life Month, a time to celebrate the incredible work of Child Life Specialists. These compassionate professionals play a vital role in supporting the emotional, developmental, and psychosocial well-being of children and families. 💛 Meet Laura Peace, our Child Life Coordinator at Kids Cancer Care. She works with kids to help them understand their medical journey. Through play with medical equipment, art activities and group programs, kids and their families can learn about what to expect and express their feelings around childhood cancer. Laura supports our kids and families through these vital programs: 🌼 Cancer in the Classroom - facilitating a personalized presentation of a child’s cancer journey for them to share with their class. 🌼 PLUS/Siblings Meet - a program supporting undiagnosed siblings with their questions and feelings around cancer; building a community of support for one another 🌼 Child Life at Home - Learning about what to expect when a procedure is coming up or processing the feelings related to the diagnosis of cancer or the medical experiences a child has had. "I have worked with kids for many years. My sister-in-law was diagnosed with leukemia in 2022 and having the experience of a sibling with cancer made me want to join Kids Cancer Care and support kids who have cancer as well as their brothers and sisters." says Laura If you wish to learn more about our Child Life programs, click here: https://bit.ly/3TQrfy6 #KidsCancerCare #ChildLifeMonth

Sometimes, it feels like fate brings people together in unexpected ways. For Corrie and David Dale, their journey to support children affected by cancer was guided by a series of meaningful connections. From joining the Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2015 to launching the Duel It for the Kids fundraiser, they’ve raised nearly $350,000 and cycled over 8,500 km in support of children affected by cancer. Their efforts don’t stop there. A mutual friend introduced David to Tour for Kids Alberta, a three-day cycling event that raises funds to send children with cancer to Camp Kindle. When they learned that 100% of donations went directly to the cause, they were all in. From participating in the Tour for Kids Alberta to David’s cross-country ride in the National Kids Cancer Ride, they’ve turned their passion into action, uniting their community and making a lasting impact. 💪🚴♂️ While Corrie occasionally cycles for a day or two in the Ride of Courage, she thrives in her volunteer and fundraising roles. “You build these friendships over the years. The energy is incredible. You meet new people, cheer on the cyclists, be a little crazy, and meet the families you’re helping.” — Corrie Dale Thank you, Corrie and David, and all the volunteers, cyclists, sponsors and donors, who raise funds through the Ride of Courage. By supporting our camp programs, you’re helping to restore childhoods for children with cancer — so vital to their growth and development. To read Corrie and David's journey, click here: https://bit.ly/43upHjQ To register for the ride or volunteer opportunities click here: https://lnkd.in/gF3VFiWt #KidsCancerCare #RideOfCourage

Thank you, DHR Global, for supporting us. The generosity and dedication shown by everyone involved will make a lasting impact on the lives of children and families fighting cancer. 💛

Are you dreaming of spring? Dust off your bike and secure your spot for the 2025 Ride for a Lifetime, presented by Excel Homes! Join fellow riders on June 20th for an unforgettable day of breathtaking mountain views and camaraderie while raising vital funds for children and families affected by cancer. Register now and tag your riding buddies below to let them know! Click here: https://bit.ly/4kFBhyx

A Heartfelt Thank You to the Canadian Energy Executive Association 💛 We are beyond grateful to them for choosing Kids Cancer Care as their charity beneficiary this year. With their incredible support, we are thrilled to announce that record-breaking money was raised to fund our annual research with the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation & University of Calgary in the fight against childhood cancer! Thank you for your unwavering commitment to making a difference in the lives of our kids and families affected by cancer. Together, we are one step closer to a cure! #KidsCancerCare #CanadaEnergyExecutiveAssociation #CancerResearch #MakingADifference

A huge THANK YOU to our incredible sponsors Spur, Kathy & Rob Motherwell for their continued support in the Ride of Courage! 🚴♂️💪 Your generosity and commitment help make a lasting impact on our kids and families affected by childhood cancer. 💛 To learn more or sign up for Ride of Courage, click here: https://lnkd.in/gF3VFiWt

Gratitude Report is here! 🤩 With your help, we continue to help young people and their families survive and thrive in body, mind, and spirit. Read our Gratitude Report to learn more about the lives you touched in 2024-25. Click here to learn more: https://bit.ly/44bPbkd #KidsCancerCare

A heartfelt thank you to our incredible sponsors Peloton for their continued support in the Ride of Courage! 🚴♂️💪 Your generosity and commitment help make a lasting impact on our kids and families affected by childhood cancer. We're very grateful for your support.💛 To learn more or sign up for Ride of Courage, click here: https://bit.ly/4hKP58V #KidsCancerCare #RideOfCourage #Peloton

On Family Day, let’s celebrate family — the families we are born into and the families we choose — like the community of Kids Cancer Care. Let’s give a big shoutout to the cyclists in the Ride of Courage — our #WheelFamily. With every mile they pedal and every dollar they raise to send a kid affected by cancer to camp, it is clear they are far more than just fellow cyclists. They are family. It’s so beautiful to see how they support, encourage, and look out for one another. 🚴♀️💛 Read why some of our #WheelFamily members cycle every year. Here’s to our #WheelFamily who love ROC! We are blessed to count YOU as family. We would love for you to join our #WheelFamily. Click here to register: https://lnkd.in/gF3VFiWt

Today is International Childhood Cancer Day — a time when pediatric cancer groups around the world join forces to advocate for better access to care for children and adolescents with cancer everywhere. Here in Alberta, Kids Cancer Care is partnering with the Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH) and the University of Calgary (UCalgary) to improve access to clinical trials through the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Experimental and Novel Therapies EXcellence (PHOENIX) initiative. Clinical trials are essential to advancing new research and improving outcomes for children with high-risk cancers. Sometimes a clinical trial is their only hope. Take Milan, for example, at 14 she was diagnosed with alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS). Since her diagnosis in 2015, Milan has relapsed multiple times and endured multiple surgeries. But she isn’t giving up and neither is Dr. Franz Zemp, a Kids Cancer Care-funded researcher at the University of Calgary and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Zemp and his research team are developing next-generation immunotherapies by harnessing and training the child’s own immune system to target and kill cancer. Using Milan’s tumour and tissue samples, the team was able to grow one of the world’s only ASPS cell lines. This means that for the first time, scientists could study the rare cancer. The Calgary research team developed a CAR T cell therapy that could genetically re-write Milan’s immune system to specifically target her unique cancer. “We were able to build and thoroughly test an ASPS-specific CAR T cell therapy that works tremendously well in a laboratory setting,” says Dr. Zemp. After receiving approval from Health Canada, the Calgary researchers began testing the new immunotherapy in a phase one clinical trial. They have treated three patients since the trial opened in October 2023. And it’s showing promise. Now, Dr. Zemp’s team is applying the knowledge and technology gained from the ASPS research to other types of sarcomas. “The pipelines that we have built, the people we have met to enable this, have laid out a very clear path for our future,” says Dr. Zemp. “Different fusion-genes drive most sarcomas of children and young adults, and we are scouring the signatures they leave on cancer cells now. Ewing’s sarcoma was the next cancer to enter our pipeline in January of this year, and we found the target and we are building the CAR T cell therapy now. We may have hit a home run with ASPS, but we are swinging for a grand slam.” “The research coming out of this lab could save my life,” says Milan.