Supporting Families Through Childhood Brain Cancer
At Tali’s Fund, we provide direct financial support and practical resources to families with children affected by brain cancer, including the Gift Card Package Program (in partnership with Kindred Foundation and Phoebe Rose Rocks), the Compassionate Care Program (with Childhood Cancer Canada), and a comprehensive Online Resource Directory of essential services.
Online Resource Directory
Our Online Resource Directory offers a curated selection of resources to guide families through various stages of their journey. We are continually enhancing the usability and content of this directory, ensuring it remains a reliable and up-to-date source of information. As new resources are identified, we are dedicated to adding them, helping families access the support they need.
Gift Card Package Program
We have partnered with Kindred Foundation and the Phoebe Rose Rocks Committee to provide gift card packages to families in need. The Family Support Package program was initiated by Phoebe Rose Rocks Foundation and is now managed by Kindred Foundation together with the Phoebe Rose Rocks Committee and Tali’s Fund.
Each package consists of $350 worth of gift cards. They are provided to hospitals across Canada and are disbursed by social workers to families in need.
The Family Support Packages are customized for each hospital with the help of social workers. In some instances, hospitals might prefer Uber gift cards over gas gift cards because many families in large urban centres do not own a car. Here is an example package that would be provided to the family:
- $100 – Petro-Canada Gas
- $100 – President’s Choice Grocery
- $100 – Amazon
- $50 – Tim Hortons
The packages are wrapped with gold paper and ribbon to represent childhood cancer awareness; a card with a message of support is included.
Once assembled, the packages are mailed to the receiving hospital with tracking, where a signature is required upon delivery. When possible, the packages are hand-delivered to the hospitals to deepen connections with social workers and allow for an informal check-in on the program.
Gift cards are ordered through FundScrip, a Canadian organization that donates a percentage of the gift card purchases back to charity partners. The donations from FundScrip are then used to purchase more gift card packages. For example, a $100 purchase with a 3% return rate would yield a $3 donation back to Tali’s Fund, and then put towards more packages. Shipping is free when the order is over $5000, so orders are placed for a minimum of 15 packages ($5,250).
Below are the five hospitals currently participating in the Family Support Program. Our goal is to see this program in every children’s hospital across Canada. The number of packages provided to each hospital per year depends upon hospital needs and/or the Family Support Program’s budget.
- The Hospital for Sick Children/SickKids (Toronto, ON)
- Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario/CHEO (Ottawa, ON)
- IWK Health (Halifax, NS)
- CancerCare Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB)
- Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital (Saskatoon, SK)
- Surrey Memorial Hospital (Surrey, BC)
- Family with a child diagnosed with brain cancer
- Living in Canada
- Under the age of 19 (exceptions considered)
- Travelling 150km or more for treatment and/or in significant financial need, as determined by the social worker
Our preference is for Social Workers to provide the Family Support Packages to families; however, we do receive individual requests from families. If requests come from a family at one of the hospitals listed above, we ask the family to contact their Social Worker. If the request comes from a family not at one of the above hospitals, we will arrange for a package to be mailed directly to the family once it is confirmed with their Social Worker that the family is in treatment.
Compassionate Care Program - Partnership with Childhood Cancer Canada
Tali’s Fund is proud to partner with Childhood Cancer Canada (CCC) to strengthen support for families navigating paediatric brain tumours through their Compassionate Care Program.
Through this collaboration, Tali’s Fund provides enhanced financial assistance that matches, dollar-for-dollar, the support already offered by CCC, ensuring families receive more meaningful relief when they need it most. This can help ease some of the practical burdens families carry, allowing parents and caregivers to devote more of their energy to what matters most: caring for their child.
CCC’s Compassionate Care Program is a national support program for families affected by childhood cancer, designed to ease financial strain, reduce isolation, and support the emotional well-being of children, parents, caregivers, and siblings during and after treatment. Support is confidential, respectful, and centred on each family’s unique needs.
The program helps families manage essential expenses such as:
- Groceries and household necessities
- Transportation and travel to medical appointments
- Accommodation during treatment away from home
- Medications not covered by insurance
- Meals during long hospital days
- End-of-life or bereavement expenses
This support is intended to help reduce some of the immediate financial strain families face, allowing them to focus more fully on their child’s care and well-being.
Families in Canada with a child or adolescent affected by cancer may be eligible, including:
- Children diagnosed with cancer (or experiencing a relapse)
- Children and adolescents aged 18 and under
- Children receiving care at a Canadian hospital (active treatment or follow-up/after-care)
- Bereaved families of a child who has recently passed away from cancer
All applications are confidentially reviewed on a rolling basis with care, empathy, and fairness.
Families can apply directly through Childhood Cancer Canada:
👉 Apply for Compassionate Care Support
Your hospital social worker or care team can also assist with the application process.
Together, Supporting Families
PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION TO HELP US MAINTAIN AND EXPAND OUR FAMILY SUPPORT INITIATIVES.
Donor Recognition
For donations of $5,000 or more, Tali’s Fund will provide recognition through features on our website, social media platforms, and electronic newsletter.