By Sarah Hann

With roots in humor-driven fundraising and a heart for serving, non-profit organization Kids Get Cancer Too makes sure no family fights pediatric cancer alone.

Kids Get Cancer Too actually began in the early 1980s as American Pie Party, with the focus on throwing pies and raising some funds to support those fighting cancer. The thought behind flinging a pie for a good cause? To fight the ultimate tragedy with the ultimate comedy.

The organization operated as American Pie Party into the very early 2020s, which is when Jen Belt, Operations Director, came on the scene. She’d worked with American Pie Party in hosting a pie-in-the-face event for Girl Scouts, and soon found herself being asked to come aboard. Despite no prior work in non-profits, Jen loved the mission and said yes.

Methodically, yet quickly, the organization restructured by naming a full board, zeroing in on goals and their mission of serving families, and a name change to Kids Get Cancer Too so that who they are and who they serve is right in the name.

Serving Others

Kids Get Cancer Too assists families with a pediatric cancer diagnosis with expenses not covered by insurance or even sometimes the overlooked expenses.

From gas to get to appointments to special medical needs, and often paired with a parent taking unpaid leave from work, the expenses add up fast.

“It doesn’t matter your income, no one can afford pediatric cancer,” Jen said.

Gift cards to assist with the costs of gas and meals either at the hospital or at home are among the biggest way in which Kids Get Cancer Too support families. In fact, it’s part of the first touch point when a family comes on board with Kids Get Cancer Too as Jen walked through the process of a family receiving support.

Families seeking support will first reach out, which then they are vetted by Kids Get Cancer Too in joint effort with the appropriate social workers. Once a family has cleared the vetting process, they receive a quick welcome phone call from Board President Kim McKeand and a card in the mail with gift cards.

Shortly after, a more in-depth phone call invites a family to join in support or prayer groups, but also serves as a time to discover any deeper, greater, or even overlooked needs. Jen noted that often families aren’t sure of specific needs when they first apply, so this allows the family to assess what they need and the Kids Get Cancer Too team can ask even better questions for needs assessment.

Some of those other needs have ranged from home renovations to adapt to a family’s ‘new normal’, assistance in navigating clinical trial or pharmaceutical options, cost assistance for hearing aids, and even fold-up wagons which assist families in carrying all of their treatment day needs from their vehicle to the treatment room in just one trip. In summertime, specialty needed items might include cooling—such as air conditioning units or heavy insulation coolers, so that everyone and everything (ranging from patient comfort to medical storage temp) can be comfortable.

Assistance can also be given in ways of advocacy and spiritual guidance. On their team, Kids Get Cancer Too has a retired registered nurse who can lend a hand in advocacy and navigating the complicated world of medicine. They also have a multi-faith chaplain available for counseling and also leads a prayer request card program.

Jen sees their services as being concierge in the sense of being a one-stop place for assistance. Even in a case where their answer might be ‘no’, Jen prefers “no, but…” and then introduce the family to another organization or support source who could serve that need.

The People

The vision is to be the village for these families, which also means Kids Get Cancer Too needs their own village to start with—a solid board.

Between a scroll of their board webpage, and of course conversing with Jen, it doesn’t take long to see that each board member brings unique skills and perspectives to their collective team table. They cover the bases and lean on each other as work overlaps.

Board members vary in ages and day jobs worked or currently working. One board member is a pediatric cancer family and can provide the specific perspective that lines up with the families they serve. Another board member keeps up to date on regulations for non-profits and making the best tech choices for the group. Jen herself is a small business owner and Kim’s background comes from business and management. Jen and Kim split networking duties while all board members are able to chime in with a good word about Kids Get Cancer Too as the occasion arises.

The Mission

Together, they all rise to the occasion for the families of Kids Get Cancer Too, and the families they haven’t served yet, by hosting fundraisers to keep their services moving. With several years under their belt, Jen said they’re beginning to get a feel for fundraisers that are definite winners, what would need tweaked, and what they’d like to try next.

Jen shared that their next fundraising goal is to kick off the Campaign for Hope 2026. Online-based, the campaign would focus on monthly donation commitments. Even ten dollars a month can add up over the course of the year, if spread out in the ten dollar increments, and makes for reliable revenue each month.

True to their pie-in-the-face roots, fundraising events still include someone (or often more than just ‘one’!) taking a pie to the face to raise funds for a good cause. Jen loves seeing how groups will even set their own pie-in-the-face fundraising goals for a night, and then crush said goals… crushing in this case being pie to the face, but ultimately helping families ‘crush’ cancer.

Learn more about Kids Get Cancer Too:

www.kgct.org

Facebook: @KidsGetCancer

Instagram: @kidsgetcancer_too

Find them at Boo off Broadway in October for a pie-in-face good time to raise funds to support pediatric cancer patients & families.

This story provided to the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce. Photos provided by Kids Get Cancer Too.