Trusted Resources for Families
When a child is facing cancer, families deserve support that is practical, compassionate, and easy to access. Below are trusted nonprofits that may be able to help with things like travel, lodging, everyday expenses, emotional support, and moments of joy for the whole family.
Everyday Financial Help
Help with the real-life costs that don’t pause during treatment: rent, utilities, groceries, gas, and more.
Pinky Swear Foundation
Provides financial support for everyday expenses so families can focus on their child — including rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, and gas.
Endure to Cure
Supports children in cancer treatment and their families with financial assistance and encouragement-focused programs.
Friends of Karen
Guides and supports families caring for a child with a life-threatening illness, including emotional, financial, and advocacy support (region-specific).
Family Reach
Offers grants (when available) to help cover non-medical bills like rent, utilities, groceries, and transportation — often submitted via a healthcare team member.
CancerCare
Provides oncology social worker support and limited financial assistance for eligible individuals (like transportation and childcare), plus education and counseling.
The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation
Helps families tackle childhood cancer by providing comprehensive financial, emotional, and practical support (service area varies).
Travel & Lodging
Help staying close to the hospital or traveling to specialized care and clinical trials.
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC)
Provides a “home-away-from-home” so families can stay close to their hospitalized child at little to no cost (availability depends on local Houses).
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF)
Helps eligible families with travel-related costs when a child needs treatment innovations or clinical trials not available locally.
National Children’s Cancer Society (NCCS)
Helps relieve the burden of travel and lodging so a child can get to treatment when costs add up.
Free Flight Help
When care is far from home, these organizations may be able to help with flights for medical travel.
Miracle Flights
Provides free medical flights for children who need specialized care far from home.
Angel Flight (regional networks)
Coordinates free air transportation for legitimate medically related needs through volunteer pilots (availability varies by region).
Corporate Angel Network (CAN)
Arranges free travel on corporate aircraft to help cancer patients reach treatment centers for surgery, clinical trials, second opinions, and more.
Joy & Experiences
Because families deserve more than survival mode — these programs create memory-making moments and “carefree breaks.”
A Kid Again
Provides year-round, cost-free “Adventures” for kids with life-threatening conditions — including siblings and parents.
Make-A-Wish
Creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses through local chapters and medical referrals.
Give Kids The World Village
An 89-acre nonprofit resort in Central Florida providing weeklong, cost-free vacations to children with critical illnesses and their families (typically through wish organizations).
Hope for Henry
Reinvents how hospitals care for kids and families through innovative programs that help hospitalized children cope and thrive.
Sunshine Foundation
Grants dreams/wishes for children with severe or lifelong chronic conditions — including families who may not qualify for other wish organizations.
Education, Advocacy & Family Support
Reliable information, tools, and support networks can make the path feel less confusing and more manageable.
American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO)
Offers free childhood-cancer-specific resources and support information for families and caregivers.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (Family Guides)
Beyond funding and travel help, ALSF offers family-focused guides and resource lists to support you through the journey.
How to use this page (without getting overwhelmed)
- Pick one category that matches your biggest need right now (travel, bills, lodging, emotional support).
- Start with 1–2 applications — many programs have limited funding windows.
- Ask your hospital social worker to help submit or verify paperwork when needed.
- Keep a simple folder with: diagnosis letter, appointment schedule, bills/receipts, and proof of address.