Stories

We are proud to support the Kiwanis Children’s Cancer Program of Seattle (KCCP-S) whose singular purpose is funding research and training to end childhood cancer, ensuring a brighter, healthier future for children everywhere.  

Everything starts with a dream. The Kiwanis Children’s Cancer Program of Seattle (KCCP-S), founded in 2019, dreamed of a world free from childhood cancer. They believed that achieving this dream was possible and they acted. Their three-step formula—dream, believe, act—guides their mission to have a world free of childhood cancer.

~Jim Garcia, Lieutenant Governor, Mid Puget Sound Kiwanis

KCCP-S is convinced that research is the path to victory in the fight against childhood cancer, and 100% of the funds they raise support Seattle Children’s Hospital pediatric cancer research fellowships in alliance with University of Washington Medical Center and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Learn more about the program here.

Why this work is so important:

• Cancer is the #1 disease-related cause of death for children and adolescents, but there’s no single cure – there are more than 12 major types of pediatric cancer and over 100 subtypes. ^(1,3) 
• Every year, 400,000 children world-wide are diagnosed with cancer and 100,000 die. For children aged 0-14, the average age of diagnosis is 6 years old. ^(1,7)  
• There’s a huge discrepancy in survival rates around the world.  In high-income countries, more than 80% of children with cancer are cured, elsewhere survival rates drop below 30%. ⁽⁶⁾
• Some cancer treatment side effects cause more harm to children than adults, as they affect a child’s developing organs, and survivors suffer secondary health risks.  Childhood cancer survivors have a 15X higher risk of developing congestive heart failure and nearly all survivors have a chronic health problem by age 50. ^(1,7)
• Childhood cancer research funding accounts for only 4% of all federal funding for cancer research. In the past 30 years, only 7 drugs have been approved by the FDA to treat childhood cancer, while 200+ drugs have been approved for adults. ^(5,7)

We were honored to attend the 26th annual D.A.D.S Annual Fatherhood Banquet on Father’s Day at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington.

Keynote speaker Darryl Strawberry shared his very personal journey of healing with his abusive, alcoholic and absent father. Several other fathers shared how D.A.D.S. has helped them build, restore and maintain bonds with their children, with life-changing results that will have impacts for generations. We were especially touched by hearing D.A.D.S. “graduates” speak to their ability to earn their way back into their children’s lives, overcoming significant challenges such as incarceration and addiction.

D.A.D.S. helps fathers navigate barriers which separate them from their children and families, to stop cycles of family violence and brokenness, and to become agents of change in their communities.

Marvin and Jeanett Charles founded D.A.D.S in 1998 to apply the lessons they had learned during their own process of recovery and reunification of their family. While being homeless, unemployed and addicted, Marvin and Jeanett had lost several children to foster care and were facing termination of parental rights when a Child Protective Services worker gave them 90 days to get sober, find housing and employment. Today, they live in their own home with three daughters and a son and work with other fathers, one at a time, to overcome the challenges they are experiencing and support them in building a better relationship with, and future for, their children.

This event raised $295,000 for the critical work that D.A.D.S. is doing! We’re proud to be a supporter and invite you to learn more at https://www.aboutdads.org.