Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Friends of Kids with Cancer

Educational, Emotional, and Recreational Family Programs · About this organization

What you get

Free education, counseling, expressive therapy, scholarships, gifts, iPads, outings, parties, and comforting items during clinic visits.

How to start

Your social worker starts the request. Ask them to contact the program with you.

Good to know

  • No general deadline or capacity status is published.

The details, as published

B-ALL is in scope Hospital Mediated Care team starts the request

No-cost education, counseling, expressive therapy, peer support, scholarships, gifts, iPads, outings, parties, and clinic comforts for patients at three partner treatment centers and their families.

Go to the official program ↗

What help you may get

School And Learning

Tutoring and educational testing

Personalized office or virtual tutoring for patients and siblings plus community-provider educational and neuropsychological testing with a written report and learning recommendations.

Noncash help · Recurring

Can cover

  • Tutoring
  • Educational testing
  • Neuropsychological testing
  • Written learning report
  • Tutoring frequency is matched to student needs.

Mental Health Therapy

Counseling, expressive therapies, and support groups

Certified-therapist services include art, music, play, and talk therapy; support groups also help patients, parents, and siblings.

Noncash help

Can cover

  • Art therapy
  • Music therapy
  • Play therapy
  • Talk therapy

Peer And Emotional Support

Family support groups and shared events

Support groups and family events create opportunities for patients, parents, and siblings to connect with families who understand pediatric cancer.

Noncash help · Recurring

Can cover

  • Support groups
  • Family connection at events
  • Parties occur many times each year.

Wishes And Family Experiences

Parties, outings, iPads, and individualized gifts

Recreational support includes family parties, ticket outings, individualized gifts, end-of-treatment celebrations, and an iPad fund.

Amount decided by the program

Can cover

  • Family parties
  • Ticket outings
  • Individualized gifts
  • End-of-treatment celebration
  • iPad

Practical Items And Home Help

In-clinic toys, food, and comfort items

In-clinic programs supply toys, games, snacks, meals, and comfort items during treatment.

Amount decided by the program · Recurring

Can cover

  • Toys
  • Games
  • Snacks
  • Meals
  • Comfort items

Scholarships And Survivorship

College scholarships

College scholarships are offered to qualified pediatric-cancer survivors or students still in treatment; award values and application details are not published on the overview page.

Amount not published

Can cover

  • College scholarship

Why this may help

Peer And Emotional Support: Support groups and family events give you opportunities to connect with others affected by childhood cancer.

Practical Items And Home Help: Toys, games, comfort items, snacks, and meals cover some everyday needs alongside the family activities.

Scholarships And Survivorship: The college scholarship is the education-focused part of the wider family programs.

Check the main eligibility rules

Diagnosis

B-ALL is in scope. B-ALL is both pediatric cancer and a blood-related disease.

Age

The program does not publish an age limit.

  • Tutoring is described for students of all ages; no organization-wide patient age limit is published.

Treatment status

Active Treatment, Maintenance Treatment, Post Treatment, Survivorship

  • The organization says it serves children undergoing treatment and survivors; individual offerings may have narrower timing rules.
  • A partner-hospital social worker or care team must refer the child.

Where you live and where your child is treated

Where your family lives

No residence restriction is published.

  • Residence in the St. Louis area is not required, but treatment at a partner center is required.

Where your child is treated

Treatment must be connected to: Mercy Cardinals Kids, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Center; Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital; The Costas Center at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.

  • The child must be treated by one of the three named partner centers.
Where the service, camp, stay, or experience happens
  • Virtual tutoring — Tutoring can be delivered virtually after partner-hospital referral.
  • Friends of Kids with Cancer office — Some services are delivered at the St. Louis office. — Office-based tutoring and program coordination.

How to get started

Set up the ask for my social worker

Does a social worker or care team need to start it? Yes. Ask your child’s social worker or care team to begin the request.

Who can start: Social Worker, Child Life Specialist, Healthcare Team

  1. Ask the child's partner-center social worker or care team which Friends programs fit the family's needs.
  2. Submit the internal referral on the family's behalf.
  3. Contact the family directly when additional coordination is needed.

Ways to apply or ask

  • Hospital Workflow · Open form or page — The referral asset itself is internal to partner treatment centers and not public.

Documents to prepare

The program does not publish a document checklist. Ask before gathering paperwork.

Availability and timing

ProgramActive
ApplicationsHospital Mediated
Funding or spaceNot Published
Application windowNot Published
Last checkedAug 27, 2026
  • The organization currently directs families to partner-hospital referral; program-specific capacity is not published.
  • No general deadline or capacity status is published.

Limitations and things to confirm

  • Treatment at one of three named partner centers is required even if the family lives elsewhere.
  • A partner-center care-team member must submit the referral.
  • Program-specific ages, timing, capacity, limits, and referral questions are not publicly listed.
  • What patient ages, treatment-status rules, internal referral questions, required documents, and program-specific limits apply?

Official sources

Program details were last verified Aug 27, 2026. Availability can change, so check the official program before applying.

Official program