November 2024 Newsletter

Welcome Back to our Monthly Newsletter

November 2024

We had to take a little break to reorganize things, but we are happy to be back to our monthly editions.

Hope you enjoy your reading!

FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM

After helping to facilitate the discovery of promising treatments and groundbreaking research, we are working to help fill in some of the gaps that open up in the everyday life of children and families affected by childhood brain cancer as they navigate many challenges, including financial hardship.  Expenses of medication, parking, travel, and many other costs accumulate, and often at least one of the parents needs to stop working in order to help care for the child in treatment.

Tali’s Fund recently teamed up with Kindred Foundation and the Phoebe Rose Rocks Committee to provide gift card packages valued at $350 each to families in need. The program was launched by Phoebe Rose Rocks Foundation, and we are excited to join this initiative! There are five hospitals currently participating in the Family Support Program, including the SickKids Hospital in Toronto. 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.

Read more about our Family Support Program at: https://talisfund.org/family-support/

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.

You can always support our initiatives by making a donation. If you would like to make a donation of $5,000 or more, please contact us regarding recognition opportunities.

Your support would enable us to send more packages, build our infrastructure, and help expand & train our personnel to grow with the program.

This Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, Tali’s Fund is excited to partner with Crock A Doodle in Richmond Hill and Ella Langer Photography to raise funds for children battling brain cancer. A portion of the proceeds from the day’s pottery and photo sessions will go directly to our Family Support Program, providing assistance to children and families facing brain cancer.

Reserve a 90-minute pottery session at Crock a Doodle in Richmond Hill on Dec 3rd between 10am and 7:30pm, choose the piece you want to paint and enjoy! Individuals and groups of any age are welcome. Express your creativity while supporting childhood brain cancer.

Ella Langer Photography is offering a special Festive Holiday Photo Booth session for up to five people at an exclusive rate on Dec 3rd. The 15-minute session, held in the Crock a Doodle Richmond Hill party room, includes 10 fully edited digital photos and a bonus Holiday collage—all for just $100. Spots are limited, so reserve your session today!

Have fun, capture your holiday memories, and make a difference—all in one day!

Note: Photo and pottery sessions are independent! Feel free to choose one or enjoy both!

Can’t make it? No problem! You can always support us by making a DONATION.

BLOG ARTICLE

In our recent blog article we discussed the importance of parent advocacy in the childhood cancer community. CLICK HERE to read the full blog article, by Neha Bhatnagar, a mom who recently lost her 3-year-old child to brain cancer.

How common are brain and spinal cord tumours (or central nervous system cancers) in children?

Based on the Canadian Cancer Society’s last report from February 2024, brain and spinal cord tumours are the second most common cancers in children (after leukemia). They account for about 1 out of 4 childhood cancers. More than 4,000 brain and spinal cord tumours are diagnosed each year in children and teens.

There are many types of childhood brain and spinal cord tumours. They can be non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Both cancerous and non-cancerous brain tumours can be life-threatening.

Brain and spinal cord tumours are classified based on their grade. The grade of a tumour tells you how quickly it is growing and how likely it is to spread: the low-grade (benign) tumours grow slowly. The high-grade (malignant) tumours grow quickly. Malignant tumours that start in the brain and spinal cord rarely spread outside the central nervous system.

The most common types of brain and spinal cord tumours in children include:

·        astrocytoma

·        brain stem glioma

·        choroid plexus tumours

·        craniopharyngioma

·        ependymoma

·        germ cell tumours

·        medulloblastoma

·        optic and hypothalamic glioma

·        rhabdoid tumour (also called teratoid tumour oratypical teratoid rhaboid tumour – AT/RT)

extracted from https://cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-types/brain-and-spinal-cord-childhood/what-is-a-childhood-brain-or-spinal-tumour

PAST EVENTS

TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

For the 4th consecutive year, Tali’s Fund participated in the TCS Waterfront Marathon Charity Challenge in October. Our team was able to raise $5.5K. We are really grateful to the runners who chose to fundraise for us, and for the generosity of all donors! See you in 2025!

If you are a runner or you know anyone who would be interested in fundraising for us in 2025, please contact us.  We would love to hear from you!