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Benevolent Fund
Every year in Canada about 1500 children are diagnosed with cancer and about 700 will die from the disease. Dealing with the childhood cancer journey can be financially draining for families. It’s not unusual for parents to have to cease working or to take extended leaves in order to be with their child. Some families whose children die do not have the resources to provide for a burial for their child. Childhood Cancer Canada, through its Benevolent Fund steps in to help financially struggling families in their time of need by assisting with the costs of the funeral service of their child.
Families cannot apply directly to the Foundation for financial assistance. Treatment centre social workers may refer families in need of financial support. The referral is made by forwarding the completed Benevolent support application form outlining a brief history of the child’s illness and the family’s financial situation by fax or email to the Foundation. The Chief Executive Officer reviews all applications to ensure that the information meets the financial assistance requirements. The approved file is then forwarded to the accountant.
The standard procedure: Upon receipt of the completed form, along with an invoice from the funeral home, Childhood Cancer Canada will review the request and, on approval, we will pay up to $1,000 towards the balance owed or toward the amount already paid by the family. If the bill is less than $1,000 Childhood Cancer Canada will pay the full amount. Invoices from the funeral service provider must be made out to the family, those that are made out to Childhood Cancer Canada will not be accepted. The Childhood Cancer Canada Foundation will send the cheque to the funeral home and a sympathy card to the family. No other contact will be made with the family by the Foundation.
Financial assistance of a benevolent nature is provided for families who are referred by their nurse or social worker. All other sources of help must have been sought out and exhausted prior to submitting a request. This support is categorized as "relieving poverty". We hope to reach even more families who need our help in 2013, and because of this we appreciate the pre-selection done by health care providers to ensure that only requests for families in critical financial need are submitted.
All files related to the Benevolent program are confidential. Our accountant maintains all files in regards to the program.
Download the Application Form.
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