From the desk of Barry Kirschner, Executive Director

As we enter The Valerie Fund’s 50th year supporting children with cancer and blood disorders, we are thrilled to share that 2025 was another record year. Our total program support for over 6,500 children visiting our eight centers over 33,000 times grew to a record $7.5 million for the first time. In just five short years, our program support for all things Valerie Fund has grown from $3.3 million to $7.5 million annually. That’s an increase of 127% and it came about because of your faith in our ability to support the psychosocial care that our kids deserve. That care is given through our core programs at our eight Valerie Fund Children’s Centers and continues through Camp Happy Times and on to our growing Scholarship Fund and Emergency Fund. These programs treated more children and families in 2025 than ever before. The successes of 2025 will only be a launching pad for what’s to come in 2026 and beyond.

Because we know there is more to be done to support our children fighting cancer and blood disorders, in September 2025, The Valerie Fund Board approved over $3 million to establish The Valerie Fund Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Program at The Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack. This innovative program will support hundreds of kids by funding a new, highly specialized team of clinicians that will help children manage pain and other symptoms resulting from hematology, oncology and stem cell transplant care. The Valerie Fund’s support creates a specialized pediatric palliative care team that didn’t exist before, focusing on quality of life, healing and support for children facing chronic illnesses.

To underwrite this innovative program, as well as support program expansion throughout our network of centers, we are proud to launch our “All About the Kids” Campaign. This campaign will ensure future expansion as well as uninterrupted funding for the essential programs that keep our kids healthy. I urge everyone to read about the impact this transformative campaign will have on the following pages 2-3. In 2025 we expanded our program support by another $1 million! Our newest pain and palliative care program just shows that there is even more we can do to be “value added” for our children and families. Please join us and help create more “Valerie Fund special sauce” so we can make every day a special day for our kids who need us. We are, and will always be, “all about the kids.”