I had the honor of hanging out with some pretty cool kids at the Cool Kids Clubhouse in Huntersville, NC. The Cool Kids Clubhouse hosts programs that directly benefit children with cancer, their siblings, and their parents. The kids had a blast with The Fantastic Fire Department and The Fantastic Foam Party, and Elevation Outreach for a fun Summer Festival. Seeing the pure joy on the faces of those cool kids while they were able to just be kids for a moment brought tears to the eyes of Managing Director Melissa. In that moment I recognized what a wonderful non-profit the Cool Kids Clubhouse is and wanted to learn more about how I could help these children and their families. I asked Melissa some questions that I wanted to share with our amazing community in order to hopefully help them reach their goals this year.
How did the Cool Kids Clubhouse start? AND What is the Cool Kids Clubhouse mission? Established in 2006, Cool Kids Campaign Foundation is a non-profit whose mission is devoted to improving the quality of life for pediatric oncology patients, survivors, and their families. We focus on the academic, social, and emotional needs brought on by a cancer diagnosis. At our Huntersville Cool Kids Clubhouse, named in honor of Dan Jansen, Olympic gold medalist speed skater and Cool Kids Board Member, we host programs that directly benefit the child with cancer, their siblings, and the parents. These programs include, but are not limited to movie nights, smile celebrations when a child celebrates a birthday or a treatment milestone, professional tutoring, parent support groups, themed holiday parties (summer carnivals, Boo-Fest, family picnics) and send families on a free one-week vacation to our Myrtle Beach Care Condo. All programs and services are provided at no cost to the families. |
How many children/families do you serve? There are 200 families in NC currently receiving services from the Clubhouses. Any child who has or had cancer or the siblings of our angels who passed are able to participate on all the free Clubhouse programs. |
Do you have a memory from the Cool Kids Clubhouse that really sticks? One of my favorite memories is when a family drove over 3 hours during a gas shortage to bring their daughter to our family picnic. The oncologist had not approved the child to go anywhere besides the clinic and her home for over a year until the Cool Kids Clubhouse. We are a safe haven for many families. Offering a place where their kids can just be kids, often they don’t even realize they’re hanging out with other kids who have cancer. They’re just accepted, laughing and having fun in a healthy and safe environment. That’s what happened with this little girl, when her doctor approved her to visit the Clubhouse, she cried, and then she was packed and ready to go for a week ahead of time. Another family has 5 kids, we were able to host a birthday party for one of their children. We took care of everything (décor, games, food, cake invites etc.) Mom and dad got to just show and relax as we celebrated their child. They later told us with all they had been through the last couple of years battling a cancer diagnosis with their son they hadn’t thrown a party for any of their kids in those 2 years. They were so thankful Cool Kids was there to help celebrate their children. |
What are your goals this year?
This year we are hosting a Better Together Ball in December, for our donors and Cool Kids families to come together and celebrate a year of resilience. All Cool Kids families will attend for free and receive presents from Santa, and a gas or grocery gift card to ease the financial burden often brought on by a cancer diagnosis. Each ticket and sponsorship sold will allow a family to join for free. Our goal with this event is to create awareness for our mission, we are the only charity in the area offering all of these services and more under one roof for cancer patients, siblings and parents as well as survivors. Children from all over the state are referred to us by their child life worker at the hospital, their PCP, school nurse and/or some parents find us on their own. If a family needs our services we are here for them.
Our long term goal is to own a house or building with a backyard space for the children to play outdoors. Currently we rent a very beautiful space, that’s conveniently located but our only outdoor space is a parking lot which is very hot and only available at limited times.
How can the community or local businesses help you reach your goals?
We are always in need of businesses to host new toy drives (immune compromised children cannot accept used items), gift cards drives and snack drives.
Businesses can hang a poster or brochure box to help create awareness for our mission.
Businesses can join us as a sponsor for one of our events. More info on our website.
Those interested in volunteering can sign up on our website for an orientation.
Get Involved:
Cool Kids Clubhouse Amazon Wishlist
Contact melissa@coolkidsclubhouse.com
Follow the Cool Kids Clubhouse on Facebook and Instagram
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