With the generous support of Sharks Foundation benefactors John and Cindy Cook, every non-profit that applied for a 2024-25 Community Assist Grant under the November HFC focal area received a $3,000 donation. The eight beneficiaries that received funds were: Dec My Room, Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area, Jessie Rees Foundation, Latinas Contra Cancer, Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, Pink Ribbon Good, The Teal Foundation, and There With Care Bay Area.
Each of the eight beneficiaries specialize in a different area of cancer-patient care. Dec My Room creates personalized healing places for long term pediatric patients by decorating the hospital rooms of youth enduring a long stay. The $3,000 grant will fund the transformation of 10 rooms at various Bay Area hospitals. For those needing mental and physical health support from the effects of a cancer diagnosis, Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area provides free comprehensive programs including counseling, support groups, nutrition, exercise, emergency financial assistance and patient education programs for teens and children. The Foundation’s grant will fund 60 people participating in these programs.
The Jessie Rees Foundation believes that every child who has been diagnosed with cancer deserves the support to Never Ever Give Up, or NEGU. Facing a diagnosis at just 12 years old, Jessie Rees conceptualized “JoyJars,” plastic containers filled with activities that have since been sent to more than 150,000 children worldwide in her name. Support from the Sharks Foundation will fund 100 JoyJars to courageous kids fighting cancer at Bay Area hospitals.
Latinas Contra Cancer strives to eliminate health inequities by identifying and removing the obstacles underserved Latino populations face within the healthcare systems. They do this through direct services and enhancing the capacity of Latino communities to understand cancer issues and effectively advocate for themselves in healthcare settings. The grant will be used for Latinas Contra Cancer’s cancer patient emergency fund, assisting roughly 60 households and up to 200 people total.
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area grants wishes for children with critical illnesses and in their 37-year history, the organization has granted more than 12,000 wishes. The $3,000 donation will go directly towards wish granting expenses such as contributing to a backyard playground, travel expenses to a wish destination, purchasing a gaming console, or covering costs associated with a bedroom makeover.
Pink Ribbon Good serves individuals and their families affected by breast and gynecological cancer. They provide healthy meals, rides to treatment, housecleaning essentials, and peer support so no one is alone in the fight. The funds provided will sustain and expand the meal-delivery program and support 300 meals. Similarly, The Teal Foundation is dedicated to funding groundbreaking research for the treatment of ovarian cancer, with a special focus on developing a reliable diagnostic test to detect the disease in its early stages. The $3,000 donation will impact 100 women and kick-start The Teal Foundation’s Empowering Women: Ovarian Cancer Support Sessions.
There With Care of the Bay Area provides a wide range of meaningful and fundamental services to children and families during the critical phase of a medical crisis. The grant from the Sharks Foundation will support 105 families through holiday toys, baby essentials, and gas cards donations.
The collective $24,000 in HFC grant funds will impact nearly 1,000 lives!
On November 7, the Sharks hosted their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by Kaiser Permanente. The Sharks Foundation was honored to host pediatric oncology patients for several in-game experiences including watching warm-ups from the Sharks bench and the Penalty Box, high-fiving the players as they took the ice, and Zamboni rides.
