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Through February 18th, your pledge or cash donation will be matched dollar for dollar through a challenge made to us by our friends at The SIlver Family Foundation.

The next $75,000 in donations we raise for the Green Light Initiative before February 18th will be doubled. Donors have already taken advantage of the first $125,000 of this $200,000 Silver Family foundation challenge...but we want to make sure we meet the entire challenge and that you get the credit for it!

We are proud to announce that we are 90% of the way toward our Green Light Goal of $5 million for our first-ever capital campaign.

The Green Light Initiative is different than most capital campaigns. Every single penny of that $5 million—100% of your donation—becomes direct care for Valerie Fund children and families. But we're already doing more to help more Valerie Fund kids.

Our totally new programs because of The Green Light Initiative:
   • Our new Valerie Fund Children's Center at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey means that families now have access to a full-time child life specialist and social worker, as well as an onsite neuropsychologist, financial specialist, and educational liaison. In addition, kids at St. Joe's are eligible to apply for scholarship funding from The Valerie Fund when they're applying to post-secondary school, such as college or vocational programs, along with Valerie Fund kids from our other six centers. Dr. Jill Menell and nurse manager Bill Copeck tell us they can do so much more for their families with Kelsey, Shannon, Carmen, Jackie, and Lori on the team.

   • With nutrition a key factor in health, the first Valerie Fund nutritionist has been added at The Valerie Fund Children's Center at Goryeb Children's Hospital, Morristown Medical Center. Yael, a certified dietician, works with children individually, and even holds monthly cooking classes on-site so that patients can participate in the creation of foods they find delicious that give them the calories and nutritional elements to stay strong and fortified during treatment.

   • With so many children beating cancer, expanding survivorship care is critical to helping them maintain long-term health. The Long Term Follow-Up Program (LTFU) at the Valerie Fund Children's Center at Goryeb Children's Hospital at Morristown Medical Center addresses medical and psychological survivorship issues and now operates three days a week. The Green Light Initiative has allowed for the addition of an LTFU Coordinator and a dedicated LTFU Social Worker, a critical position that recognizes survivors of childhood cancer can experience a number of issues that go beyond the physical.

In addition to new programs, The Green Light Initiative was designed to expand existing programs to meet the needs of our families through 2021:
   • Our psychologist at The Valerie Fund Children's Center in Voorhees, New Jersey, part of the world-renowned Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), has increased her dedicated on-site Valerie Fund practice from one to five days a week. Dr. Natalie works with patients and family members to address the fears and anxieties that come with devastating diagnoses, individually and as a family, based on their needs.

   • Our integrative medicine practitioner at The Valerie Fund Children's Center at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center has tripled her hours so that she can work with children and families on a full-time basis. Mariella utilizes yoga, healing touch, aromatherapy, acupressure, massage and other non-invasive techniques to help minimize children's pain, discomfort, and anxiety. She teaches kids and parents to help themselves at home, adding self-empowerment to her list of offerings.

   • And we have doubled Integrative Medicine at our Goryeb Children's Hospital Valerie Fund Center from two to four daily clinic hours, which, added to the existing acupuncture in-clinic program results means that patients have access to a full range of integrative medicine modalities on site.

   • Since education is at the center of every child's life, our Educational Liaison at The Valerie Fund Children's Center in Newark, Suzanne, is now available to patients four days each week, assessing their needs, coordinating with schools, and making sure that children can continue their education during treatment and stay connected to school.

   • Joann, our Educational Liaison at the Morristown Valerie Fund Center, has expanded the program by increasing her availability during the time of highest need based on the rhythm of the school year and patients' needs.

The Green Light Initiative was designed to ensure that these and other programs will be funded through 2021. As we complete this campaign, our next priority is to maintain the level of growth we've achieved and stay abreast of emerging psychosocial therapies to make life easier for our kids.

We're prepared for the challenge and take daily inspiration from the children we serve.