Cooking up funds to support cancer patients

After a child is diagnosed with cancer, a family loses approximately one-third of its after-tax income to travel costs for treatment, said Dayna Caruso, volunteer and fundraiser co-ordinator at Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC).

With the added expenses for fuel, meals and accommodations, it can be difficult to make ends meet, she said.

That's where the NOFCC comes in.

The Sudbury-based non-profit organization helps families with their immediate financial needs and offers educational and emotional support.

With the potential to serve up to 300 Northern Ontario families annually, all the money NOFCC collects through fundraising goes directly to families, said Caruso, helping with the obvious expenses mentioned above, as well as ones people might not consider, such as hospital parking fees.

Although parking might not seem like a big deal, it is actually a significant issue for most families, Caruso said.

“Most families tend to travel from either Sick Kids (in Toronto) to Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO, in Ottawa), some on a weekly basis,” she said. “The parking alone in that case can end up being very expensive and that is why we have our parking-assistance program.”

The money raised supports between 15 and 30 different families on a monthly basis, said Caruso. But, like the majority of non-profit organizations, NOFCC can't do it alone.

“What we do as an organization isn't possible without all the fundraising that is done,” said Caruso.

This is why on April 20, M&M Meat Shop at 1485 Lasalle Blvd. will be hosting a charity barbecue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. All money collected through the purchase of hamburgers and hotdogs will support NOFCC.

For more information about this organization and its programs, visit www.nofcc.ca.