Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance
Because no family has to face childhood cancer alone.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Each day, 8 children in Houston will be diagnosed with cancer, and childhood cancer diagnoses numbers are on the rise. The absolute best way to support families of children with cancer is to provide a knowledge from someone who has been in those shoes so these families don't have to ask for help - we already know what they need.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Parent Consultants
Candlelighters would not be successful in our main objectives of providing emotional, educational, and practical support to families coping with childhood cancer if we did not have the Parent Consultant (PC) Program.
This unique program consists of five PCs serving childhood cancer families at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital at MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital and at Texas Children's Cancer Center. Each PC had or has a child with cancer and knows what it is like to be the custodial parent of a child with cancer. This program was developed to directly meet the needs of families affected by cancer and to inform them of the resources Candlelighters offers, including: Peer-Peer Emotional Support from someone who has been where you are, Hospital Parking Assistance, Hospital Meal Passes for caregivers, Toiletry Bags, Grocery Gift Cards, Gas Gift Cards, Funeral Assistance and one of the most important resources our PCs offer, our weekly Candlelighters Parent Support Group Meetings.
Hospital Parking Assistance
Hospital Parking Assistance is the number one practical support request Candlelighters receives from families who are patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children's Cancer Center in The Texas Medical Center. The cost per day to park at these hospitals increased in 2023 to $19 if you are there for more than four hours, which most families are. The average a family will spend on parking over the course of their first year (of three on average) on cancer treatment is $4,750. To cover parking for our families over the course of a year would cost approximately $1,333,515 - and that would only cover one car per family, no mom and dad driving separately or grandparents coming to visit. There is a HUGE gap between the amount we are currently providing and what we would like to provide.
Camp CLIFF
Camp CLIFF - a weekend away for the whole family.
Candlelighters focuses on the entire family; because childhood impacts the whole family. A family dealing with cancer instantly faces a tremendous financial burden and things such as family outings go by the wayside. Many camps offer the child with cancer a getaway, but we feel that it is very important for the whole family to come together away from the treatment facilities and their everyday hectic lives. Quality time as a family is essential in their struggle to beat the disease.
For some families, Camp CLIFF will be the last vacation they share as a family; for others, a fresh start and celebration for conquering cancer. Camp CLIFF also recognizes that each journey through cancer is different so we invite on and off-treatment children and their families, as well as bereaved families. They each have a story worth honoring and sharing and we are grateful to be able to provide this for them.
Adopt A Family
Adopt-A-Family provides hope, support, and practical help to approximately 300 families during the holiday season every year. Our Adopt-A-Family program pairs organizations, companies, and community members with Candlelighters families, spreading holiday cheer to childhood cancer families. This heartwarming program offers sponsors the opportunity to personally interact with families.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of children served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Children, Infants and toddlers, Preteens
Related Program
Parent Consultants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of campers enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Caregivers, Families, Adolescent parents, Foster and adoptive parents, Single parents
Related Program
Camp CLIFF
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We took our camping experience VIRTUAL in 2020 and sent at-home camp-in-a-box activities for the entire family!
Number of families who report that service and support staff/providers are available and capable of meeting family needs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Caregivers, Families, Parents
Related Program
Parent Consultants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
According to our 2020 Family Survey, 93% of our families found our emotional, educational, and practical services helpful for their family.
Number of death caused by cancer
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Young adults
Related Program
Parent Consultants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We provide funding to help childhood cancer families hold a memorial and/or funeral service for their loved one.
Number of families served in cancer treatment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Caregivers, Families, Parents
Related Program
Parent Consultants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of meal cards given to families while a child is staying in the hospital.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Caregivers, Families, Parents
Related Program
Parent Consultants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Average online donation
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of Facebook followers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of grants received
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Average number of dollars given by new donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of first-time donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Hours of programing delivered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Caregivers, Families, Parents
Related Program
Parent Consultants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of camps offered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Caregivers, Families, Parents
Related Program
Camp CLIFF
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
A childhood cancer diagnosis is devastating to families. Treatment requires months and sometimes years of therapy with many children who relapse facing five or more years of treatment. Even with insurance coverage, unexpected non-medical expenses add additional stress and hardship to the family budget. This is why Candlelighters focuses on practical, emotional, and educational needs of children with cancer and their families. Houston-area Candlelighters families are eligible for our services, with priority given to families in need.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Candlelighters aims to open the doors of access and opportunity, for all families of children with cancer, regardless of their background, heritage, race, financial status; we support every childhood cancer family receiving treatment in Houston, no matter what. 28 years ago, Candlelighters was founded by families of children with cancer – their vision was how to help fellow families through childhood cancer – they wanted to make sure their road was a little smoother. All of our programs and services are the direct result of this vision.
Every program and service Candlelighters offers focuses on our goal - to help families through one of life’s toughest battles: childhood cancer. Candlelighters partners with families and shares their journey as they battle the disease and the tremendous financial and emotional burdens they inherit immediately upon diagnosis. A childhood cancer diagnosis is devastating to families. Treatment requires months and oftentimes years of therapy with many children who relapse facing five or more years of treatment. Even with adequate insurance coverage, non-medical expenses add additional stress and hardship to the family budget. Candlelighters staff, board members, and volunteers know firsthand what childhood cancer families need to make it through their walk with cancer and work strategically to provide them with emotional, educational and practical support.
Over the years, we have learned how critically valuable it is for our Parent Consultants to be able to personally hand parents of children with cancer practical assistance. The incredible relief and emotional support in this small act of practical help is priceless to the childhood cancer family in need during their most difficult and darkest hour. It is our greatest honor and privilege to bring this type of comfort to childhood cancer families when stress is so high and they feel so helpless. Candlelighters offers practical support to families of children in many ways on a daily basis including hospital parking expenses (4,450 parking validations provided in 2020), in-hospital meal passes (230 meal passes provided in 2020), groceries and toiletries for families of inpatient children (200 grocery gift cards provided and more than 300 toiletry bags provided in 2020), gas cards for families traveling at length for treatment (57 gas cards provided in 2020) and when necessary funeral assistance for families whose children have lost their battle (16 families assisted in 2020).
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Parent Consultant Program was developed to directly meet the needs of families at the treatment centers and to inform them of potential resources and help through Candlelighters. Our programs and services extend beyond the hospital walls with our Family Camp, Adopt-A-Family, Fall Festival, quarterly newsletter, and other special events.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have been able to increase the support we provide for patient parking, increase the number fo campers who attend our annual family camp, introduce a gas card program, provide meal passes that allow families to purchase food at the hospital cafeteria/food court, and memorial funds to help offset the costs of funeral services.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance
Board of directorsas of 01/25/2024
Mrs. Jenna Jackson
Alex Newton
Siteworks Cast Stone
Aron Will
CBRE
Scott Newell
Wortham Insurance
Jay Beasley
Shell
ZoAnn Dreyer
Texas Children's Hospital
Jenna Jackson
P+R Productions
Ben Pisklak
Slate Real Estate Partners
Cindi Ditta-Priebe
Ditta Customized Premium Meats
Joellen Snow
Katie Stanton
Christopher Joseph
Clovis Point Capital
Lisa O'Leary
Brad Chin
Bracewell LLP
Douglas Harrison
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Kenneth Matula
Gexa Energy
Kris Vallee
Andrew Snyder
Northwestern Mutual
George Malek
Fat Boy's Pizza
Tiffany Wong
Beth Guinn
Barbara Steen
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes