The Valerie Fund Blog

Valerie Goldstein

The Valerie Fund's mission is to provide support for the comprehensive health care of children with cancer and blood disorders. We focus on the patient and the family who loves them. Our philosophy is that to truly heal a child, that child must be treated emotionally, socially, and developmentally as well as medically. Their families get support as well, which makes a world of difference for everyone.

None of this would have become a reality without a remarkable call to action that would honor Valerie's memory. 

Recipients of The Valerie Fund’s Named Scholarships gathered last week in New York City with family members to meet Valerie Fund scholarship donors and board members.  Each offered a glimpse into their Valerie Fund experience as a patient, sharing how it has shaped their perspectives and how they are pursuing their educational and career aspirations.  Thank you to our Valerie Fund “kids” for generously sharing their stories, to our generous donors for helping them fulfill their dreams, and to our extraordinary host—American Express—for providing such a beautiful, welcoming environment!

A new year (and decade!) brings with it a bounty of opportunities and we are excited for the year to come. 2019 was a great success for The Valerie Fund (you can see what happened in 2019 by clicking here) and we are hoping to be able to support more programs for our kids in 2020. We have already begun planning our fundraising events for the year so let's take a look at where you'll be able to find The Valerie Fund in 2020.

With 2019 coming to a close, we could not end the year without one final "thank you" to the absolutely incredible donors, volunteers, families, and - of course - children of The Valerie Fund. 

On November 22nd, The Valerie Fund hosted it's 28th Annual Thanksgiving Ball Gala at The Grove in Cedar Grove, NJ. This event is our largest fundraiser of the year and is a time to come together and support the children of The Valerie Fund for the following year. We have a collection of some of our favorite photos from the night for you to enjoy.

2019 was quite a year here at The Valerie Fund! Before we dive headfirst into the new year (and new decade!), we wanted to take a look back at the events of 2019. Join us to reminisce on some good times and catch up on some special fundraisers you may have missed!

Using our body’s immune system to kill cancer cells.  Deciphering the genetic code of a tumor in order to destroy it. Identifying a single residual cancer cell to determine next steps for treatment. These are just three of the innovations discussed by The Valerie Fund Educational Seminar panelists on November 14th at Maplewood Country Club from their positions deep in the trenches of the war on cancer.

The end of the year is a time of both giving and receiving for many people. Finding just the right gift for that special someone can be a fun-filled hunt for the treasure that will light up someone's day - but how can shopping for your friends and family help a Valerie Fund kid at the same time during this holiday season? 

Well-being and wellness has been a recurring theme lately on this blog (click here to read about self-care for family caregivers and click here to read about how to reduce stress). It has never been more important to ensure your emotional well-being is taken care of but in today's world it can seem to be more difficult than ever to do just that. Today we are going to take a look at another aspect of emotional wellness.