The Valerie Fund Blog

The Valerie Fund Scholarship program is just one way we help support our kids on their way to adulthood. Please join us in congratulating the Valerie Fund Scholars for the 2020-2021 academic year. 

Topics: scholarship

Valerie Fund scholarship donors, board members, staff and parents recognized 25 of the 36 named scholarship recipients at the Maplewood Country Club in Maplewood, NJ on January 3, 2019. In total, 93 former and current Valerie Fund patients were awarded scholarships for the 2018 - 2019 academic year totaling $430,000 in scholarship money to attend college and universities, from local community colleges and vocational programs, to Ivy Leagues, nursing, and medical school.

Topics: education, childhood cancer, sickle cell, scholarship, awareness, scholarship program, hematology, oncology, survivor, new jersey, fundraising, nonprofit

The next series of blogs will feature former Valerie Fund patients and focus on “where they are now.” Their diagnoses varied – cancer of the blood, of the brain or bones, cancer in the nervous, lymphatic or immune system, and other rare childhood cancers or blood disorders. Post treatment, their educational goals and career paths have varied as well. Each survivor truly believes their experience made them stronger and shaped them into the person they are today.

Topics: Non-profit, education, childhood cancer, side effects, scholarship, awareness, scholarship program, oncology, survivor, nonprofit, patients

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New Website

In keeping pace with the way people interact with and donate to their favorite causes, The Valerie Fund launched a new website in November. Many hours of preparation were dedicated to making navigation easier for the new and returning donors and for accessing resources available to Valerie Fund patients and their families. The new Valerie Fund homepage promotes all the good work our organization does and includes links to download applications for Camp Happy Times and The Valerie Fund Scholarships. 

Topics: Non-profit, social worker, educational liaison, education, Pediatric Cancer, Blood Disorders, Charity, pediatric, cancer, childhood cancer, scholarship, awareness, scholarship program, centers, new jersey, fundraising, nonprofit, website

On Thursday, January 5th, Valerie Fund board members, staff, educational liaisons and parents all gathered at the Maplewood Country Club, in Maplewood, NJ to honor the 31 named scholarship recipients for the 2016 - 2017 academic year. The current or former Valerie Fund patients were chosen by members of the Valerie Fund Board Scholarship Committee based on merit, need or a combination of both. The program awarded 83 scholarships totaling $370,000, up by more than 30% from last year. 

Topics: Non-profit, education, pediatric, cancer, scholarship, scholarship program, new jersey

This past spring, The Valerie Fund Scholarship Program awarded 83 scholarships to patients from the seven Valerie Fund Centers for the 2016-2017 academic year. The total scholarship funding was over $370,000, up to more than 30% from last year. These scholarships have been made possible through the generosity of individuals and families to whom The Valerie Fund and our scholarship recipients are extremely grateful. 

Topics: Non-profit, education, pediatric, cancer, scholarship, scholarship program, new jersey

Unless your child is attending a tuition free college (and there are a few of those schools out there), the average cost of getting a four - year degree is now conservatively priced at $180,000 (private) and $95,000 (in state public). While these figures include virtually all of the costs associated with higher learning---tuition, housing, meals, books and school supplies, fees and transportation--- not many people can avoid the sense of sticker shock and foreboding when thoughts turn to paying for this privilege.

As education costs continue to rise, The Valerie Fund Scholarship Committee has seen a steady increase in applications from both pediatric cancer patients and those living with blood disorders. “These are outstanding kids,” says committee member Debbie Schiller, “they’re hardworking and highly motivated to get the best education they can. Their applications reflect a universal anxiety about how to make up the difference between tuition costs and what their families can afford to pay.”

Topics: Pediatric Cancer, Blood Disorders, cancer, scholarship, scholarship program