Lauren's First and Goal Foundation

Research, Patient Services, and Family Support Highlight 2016 Grant Awards

Jan. 4, 2017

Lauren’s First and Goal Foundation today announced nearly $170,000 in grant awards to pediatric cancer research, patient services, and families impacted by the disease. LFG has now awarded more than $1.6 million in grants as part of the fight against pediatric cancer since 2004.

Continuing with its mission, LFG is focusing the largest amount of its grants on pediatric cancer research. The foundation will once again support three research projects that will receive $45,000 each. The research projects, which have received funding from the foundation previously, are:

- Dana Farber’s Pediatric Low-Grade Astrocytoma (PGLA) program
- Johns Hopkins’ Pilocytic/Pilomyxoid research program
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium/Low
Grade Glioma research program

The next category of grant funding is patient services, with commitments to three different programs, totaling $22,000. Two of the awards are designated for camp programs specifically designed for children battling pediatric cancer and other major illnesses. LFG has awarded $12,000 to Camp Sunshine and $5,000 to Camp Can Do.

The donation to Camp Sunshine allows families to attend camp for the Low Grade Pediatric Brain Tumor week. Camp Sunshine is a year-round program that provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families through various stages of a child’s illness.

Camp Can Do attendees explore the outdoors, swim, fish, boat, work with arts and crafts, and spend a day at Hersheypark among other activities. Lauren herself, as well as numerous patients from the Lehigh Valley Oncology Clinic, has attended Camp Can Do.

The final patient services grant for $5,000 covers the adoption of a room at the Ronald McDonald House Philadelphia Chestnut Street location. By adopting a room, the foundation is sponsoring each family who will stay in that room as their child battles a serious illness. This is the second year of this grant, and LFG received a letter from a family who stayed in the room last year, who also coincidentally had a son participate in the foundation’s one-day football camp in Pennsylvania last summer.

The final piece of LFG´s mission is family support, recognizing the financial strain of a cancer diagnosis. The foundation has committed more than $14,000 to more than 50 families.

Learn more about the foundation’s work to battle pediatric cancer and how you can support their efforts by visiting www.laurensfirstandgoal.org.