---
title: "MOM2MOM: A Program By Moms For Moms"
description: The Mom2Mom program gives moms a way to connect with kindred spirits who understand what it means to have a sick child because they have been there.
image: https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hubfs/Mom2Mom_Logo.jpg
---

[![The Valerie Fund](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hs-fs/hubfs/TheValerieFund_November2017/Images/img-logo.png?width=138&height=230&name=img-logo.png "The Valerie Fund")](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/)

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### When Valerie Goldstein lost her battle to cancer at the age of 9, her parents Ed and Sue vowed to help families in similar situations gain easier access to more customized care.

[All About the Fund](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/about/) ![](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hubfs/TheValerieFund_November2017/Images/valerie.png)

![valerie.png](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hs-fs/hubfs/TheValerieFund_November2017/Images/valerie.png?width=368&name=valerie.png "valerie.png")

### The Valerie Fund supports comprehensive health care services focusing on psychosocial programs for children with cancer and blood disorders close to home.

[About What We Do](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/what-we-do/) ![](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hubfs/TheValerieFund_November2017/Images/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-05%20at%2011.00.58%20AM.png)

![Screen Shot 2017-09-05 at 11.00.58 AM.png](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hs-fs/hubfs/TheValerieFund_November2017/Images/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-05%20at%2011.00.58%20AM.png?width=371&name=Screen%20Shot%202017-09-05%20at%2011.00.58%20AM.png "Screen Shot 2017-09-05 at 11.00.58 AM.png")

### Your participation, time or financial gift ensures that children get everything they need to receive the most effective treatment.

[Ways to Help](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/youcanhelp/) ![](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hubfs/TheValerieFund_November2017/Images/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-05%20at%2011.02.22%20AM.png)

![Screen Shot 2017-09-05 at 11.02.22 AM.png](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hs-fs/hubfs/TheValerieFund_November2017/Images/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-05%20at%2011.02.22%20AM.png?width=370&name=Screen%20Shot%202017-09-05%20at%2011.02.22%20AM.png "Screen Shot 2017-09-05 at 11.02.22 AM.png")

### Our Annual Walk Event

Donate or Join a Team

[Visit the Walk](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/walk)

### Our unique blend of medical care and emotional counseling gives patients and their families the supportive environment they need during treatment and beyond.

[Learn More](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/for-patients-and-families/)

### Our Centers

- [Children's Hospital of Phila/Voorhees](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/childrens-hospital-philavoorhees)
- [Columbia University Medical Center](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/columbia-university-medical-center)
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- [Morristown Medical Center](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/morristown-medical-center)
- [Newark Beth Israel Medical Center](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/newark-beth-israel-medical-center)
- [Overlook Medical Center](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/overlook-medical-center)
- [St. Joseph's Children Hospital](https://www.thevaleriefund.org/st.-josephs-children-hospital)

## Supporting children with cancer and blood disorders since 1976

[![Donate](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1822020/f5fd0642-8c84-439d-b936-77fbecbe7166.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1822020/f5fd0642-8c84-439d-b936-77fbecbe7166)

# The Valerie Fund Blog

<https://twitter.com/TheValerieFund_> <https://www.facebook.com/thevaleriefund?ref=ts> <https://www.youtube.com/user/TVF1976> <https://www.instagram.com/thevaleriefund/>

 

# MOM2MOM: A Program By Moms For Moms

Posted by [The Valerie Fund](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/author/the-valerie-fund) on 3/30/16 3:22 PM

- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)

![Mom2Mom_Logo.jpg](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Mom2Mom_Logo.jpg?width=484&height=185&name=Mom2Mom_Logo.jpg "Mom2Mom_Logo.jpg")

Amy Tarabokia’s son, Nicholas, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006 just shy of his fourth birthday, and received his last treatment in 2009 on his seventh birthday. She notes that there are many support groups for families but very few, if any, just for moms. "Moms take care of everyone else and tend to put themselves 'on the back burner'.” One of the things she remembers most vividly is the overwhelming feeling of isolation, particularly when Nicholas was quarantined and her “only outlet was the phone.” She tried to stay positive but there was a “constant dark cloud” hovering over her. The Valerie Fund Mom2Mom program gives moms a way to connect with kindred spirits who understand what it means to have a sick child because they have been there themselves. 

---

 

 

The program’s mission is to offer peer support to mothers of children with special needs through its helpline and support groups. The project employs two Valerie Fund Mom Peer Supporters within the Mom2Mom call center. They work part-time, in four-hour shifts. In year one, these individuals received extensive training at the Mom2Mom call center. They were taught how to (1) interact with callers to the toll-free Mom2Mom helpline; (2) co-facilitate support groups; and (3) reach out to Valerie Fund moms through calls, visits to Center locations, and visits to in-patient moms.

Tarabokia is thrilled to be able to help others in her role as the first Mom Peer Supporter. As she put it, “My son is alive and ![title895205919.png](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hs-fs/hubfs/title895205919.png?width=508&height=299&name=title895205919.png "title895205919.png")my family is intact. I can give hope to another mom that she will get through this diagnosis, get through that day.” With a service such as Mom2Mom, “We can bond in so many places, connect and talk about ourselves and our own mental health so we can help our kids. It’s hard to connect with someone who hasn’t been through it, but with another mom who has had a sick child there is an instant understanding and compassion.”

[Social workers](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/hematology/oncology-social-workers-one-person-many-roles) work with Mom2Mom to develop a comprehensive outreach and marketing effort to maximize awareness of the project within the Valerie Fund parent community. Mom Peer Supporters also organize and implement four outreach events and begin to integrate the service into additional Centers as needed. Staff make follow-up calls at regular intervals to maintain support for each case. Mom Peer Supporters are also informed of new diagnoses by social workers and reach out to moms at that time. While Mom Peer Supporters received extensive training, they are always a few feet away from the “access center” staffed by specially trained mental health professionals and clinicians. For TVF Board member Debra Gelband, funding the Mom2Mom Project was nonnegotiable. “I wasn’t leaving that board meeting until I convinced everyone how important this was for the kids,” she says. A critical part of The Valerie Fund mission is to safeguard the emotional well-being of the child. In order to do so, the primary caregiver—usually the mom—has to be strong enough to support the family and deal with other stresses such as work and finances. The Mom2Mom Project is one important way that moms of Valerie Fund patients may acquire these coping skills.

Debra visited the call center before the board meeting and was impressed with the organization, particularly the people who work there. “You can see the passion they have for giving emotional strength to others and making a positive difference in many people’s lives.” 

 

[![Learn About Mom2Mom Program: The Glassbook Program](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1822020/da788123-7ca7-42d5-91cc-25a023863578.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1822020/da788123-7ca7-42d5-91cc-25a023863578)

 Topics: [Blood Disorders](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/topic/blood-disorders), [cancer](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/topic/cancer), [moms](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/topic/moms), [caregivers](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/topic/caregivers), [support group](https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/topic/support-group)

## The Power of Giving

### Learn more about the ways you can help. 

### Join in the fight against childhood cancer and blood disorders: donate, participate in an event, or volunteer your time. Our philosophy is that to truly heal the children whose care we are entrusted, we must treat them emotionally, socially, and developmentally, as well as medically.

 

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The Valerie Fund  
 2101 Millburn Avenue  
 Maplewood, NJ 07040

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