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The Valerie Fund recently launched a historic initiative, which marks the next chapter of our organization's remarkable story. The Green Light Initiative was introduced at the annual Thanksgiving Ball Gala on November 17th, 2017. The Valerie Fund decided on the name knowing that the old reality of a cancer diagnosis for a child was like a red light, a hard stop to an active young life in motion. Turning those red lights green is what the Initiative is all about.

Dominic DiBari, Chairman of The Valerie Fund's Board of Trustees, hailed the Green Light Initiative which will expand current services by 50 percent. "Our comprehensive services and exceptional care have such a positive impact, and give children and their families the best quality of life despite their disease," said DiBari. "Through our Initiative, we will bring more programs to more people, close to their homes, while strengthening our core principles."

Among the hallmark services to be expanded throughout The Valerie Fund Centers are Integrative Medicine, Educational Liaisons, Psychologists, Emergency Fund, and Survivorship Services. Each plays a key role in hope and healing, and the survivorship component grows more important all the time. More than 80 percent of children treated and cured for cancer are considered long-term survivors, and as the survival rates for cancer increase so does the need for programs to support these young people into adolescence and adulthood.

It will take $7 million to fully realize the goals of The Green Light Initiative and $3.8 million of that is designated for the expansion of current services. A second major piece of the Initiative is for the continued growth of the newest Valerie Fund Center at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey. The Initiative includes $2 million earmarked for this new Center and will increase the full range of services to reach an additional 1,000 children and their families each year.

At over $1 million, a third piece of the Green Light Initiative involves increasing scholarships for patients, a part of helping them realize their dreams. Barry Kirschner, Executive Director of The Valerie Fund, said, "With additional scholarship funds from the Initiative, we will increase support for these students whose career choices are built on their personal experience, and who will be there for the next generation of Valerie Fund kids."

The remaining $600,000 will be used to support and conduct psychosocial research. Through our network of hospital-based centers, The Valerie Fund clinicians treat thousands of patients. The goal is to harness the power of this network to gather and analyze information about how psychosocial services impact health and quality of life of patients and their families. Not only does this provide an opportunity to learn from our patients, it also provides an opportunity to contribute to the field that will ultimately benefit all pediatric hematology and oncology patients.

The Green Light Initiative is picking up speed in its drive towards a healthier tomorrow and there are many ways to get involved. We look forward to sharing more exciting information and are proud to note that 100 percent of all funds donated through the Initiative support all these expanded programs and direct services for children and families.

We invite you to learn more at https://www.thevaleriefund.org/green-light-initiative/. Just like The Valerie Fund, the Green Light Initiative is...all about the kids!