Your unwavering generosity has been the driving force behind every research breakthrough, every family supported, and every step forward in our fight against childhood cancer this year. This report highlights why your investment in CURE is so important, showing how your donations funded cutting-edge research that’s revolutionizing the way children are treated and provided essential support families needed in their darkest moments.
FISCAL YEAR END 2025 REPORT (JULY 2024 – JUNE 2025)
Your Gifts in Action
Supporting Families and Transforming Lives Through Research
ADVANCING PRECISION MEDICINE:
Finding the Right Treatment for Every Child
This year, thanks to your generosity, CURE invested another $1.67 million to advance precision medicine for children with cancer, bringing our total investment to $16 million since 2017. These funds support critical efforts, including the Aflac Precision Medicine Program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and other initiatives accelerating genetic testing and targeted therapies.
The impact is real. Maeve had a tumor that didn’t respond to chemotherapy, and the side effects were brutal. Genetic testing revealed a rare mutation and pointed to a targeted therapy that worked. Her tumor began shrinking right away. Success stories like Maeve’s are becoming more common because of your support.
Pioneering the Future: How Your Gifts Are Driving Breakthrough Science
Your support enabled CURE to advance groundbreaking research that could revolutionize treatment for children facing cancer. Through our rigorous, competitive peer review process, we strategically allocated nearly $3.9 million across 12 innovative studies. Here is a closer look at a few of the studies.
Paul Sondel, MD, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison
The immunotherapy drug used to treat neuroblastoma causes severe pain. Dr. Sondel has developed a smart antibody that targets neuroblastoma cancer cells without attacking nerve cells. This antibody could potentially eliminate the pain while allowing higher, more effective doses that could dramatically improve survival rates.
Kelly Goldsmith, MD
Emory University
Surgical biopsies carry risk and can take valuable time to analyze. Dr. Goldsmith is developing a new type of imaging technique that can tell doctors which children would benefit most from a promising new treatment, all without needing surgery to test the tumor first.
Rintaro Hashizume, MD, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The brain has a protective wall that prevents most medications from reaching tumors. Dr. Hashizume is developing intranasal delivery methods using targeted nanoparticles and modified viruses to bypass the blood-brain barrier and effectively treat deadly pediatric brain tumors without surgery.
These three studies showcase the revolutionary science your generosity makes possible. Nine other projects are also underway, each tackling childhood cancer from a different innovative angle. Together, these 12 studies aim to conquer the most challenging cancers and bring hope to countless children and families.
YOUR COMPASSION IN ACTION
Real Help Thanks to You
When a child is diagnosed with cancer, life changes overnight. Families face hospital stays, urgent decisions, financial strain, and emotional exhaustion. Because of you, hundreds of families received critical help when they needed it most: assistance with rent and bills, meals in the hospital, counseling access, and compassionate care after loss. For families navigating their hardest days, your support is deeply meaningful and makes all the difference.
Emergency Financial Assistance
Provided $743,973 to 1,175 families in crisis
Why it’s critical:
- 84% of families in treatment experience work disruptions resulting in loss of income
- Children in poverty are twice as likely to relapse
- Financial strain can jeopardize housing, transportation, and access to care
Your Impact: Your support prevented evictions, ensured access to treatment, and allowed parents to focus on their child’s care
Open Arms Meal Program
Provided 24,440 meals and 8,780 snack bags to hospitalized children and caregivers
Why it’s critical:
- 1 in 5 families facing a diagnosis struggles with food insecurity
- Poor nutrition can seriously impact a child’s ability to tolerate and respond to treatment
Your Impact: You fed exhausted parents, eased the burden of food insecurity, and delivered care in one of its most human forms – sharing a warm, comforting meal when it was needed most.
Mental Health Support
Provided 625 counseling sessions for patients, survivors, parents, and siblings – a 25% increase from the previous year.
Why it’s critical:
- More than 55% of childhood cancer survivors experience PTSD or depression
- Parents face overwhelming emotional distress and anxiety
- Siblings often carry silent fears and feel forgotten
Your Impact: Counseling helped parents manage fear, children process pain, and siblings feel seen. Your support brought calm to chaos and gave families tools to heal and move forward.
Bereavement Support
Hosted 53 families at grief retreats, supported 94 parents through community outings, and helped 25 families with funeral expenses.
Why it’s critical:
- The loss of a child can lead to years of profound grief, isolation, and emotional trauma
- Bereaved parents are at a significantly higher risk for depression, divorce, and long-term mental health struggles
Your Impact: You gave grieving parents space to mourn, opportunities to connect with others who understand, and critical help when financial burdens added to their pain.
Help us fund even more research and support more families in 2024 – 2025.
