The December 5th Fund

Through our Helping Hands Support Program, caretakers are relieved of some of the daily stressors that quickly become overwhelming when combined with the duties of caring for an ill family member. By relieving the daily stressors this program helps to ease the emotional burden of caring for a family member with cancer and as a result increases the quality of life for the families. When caretakers are able to remain in the workplace the finance stress of cancer treatment is also lessened.

Families are nominated through our website by community members or are self-nominated. We do not distinguish families based on need, employment status, or other demographics. Our only requirement is that a member of family—whether spouse, child or extended family member—is currently going through cancer treatment. During the planning process for the Great Day experience, the Helping Hands program also begins to take shape for the family. This allows us to immediately implement Helping Hands support following the Great Day so the family continues to experience a release from daily stressors without having to swiftly return to daily workloads for the three months of the program’s duration.

Through the Great Day and Helping Hands programs, the December 5th Fund is able to create once-in-a-lifetime memories for families afflicted by cancer and provide ongoing support for the family as they continue the long journey through treatment.

Our Great Day and Helping Hands programs are specific to the needs of each family. The Program Manager will meet with each family to discuss the individual needs of the household. Together, the Program Manager and family create a three-month support plan that is specially tailored to the unique needs of that family. This planning process takes place while a team of volunteers develops the Great Day experience. This simultaneous planning process allows the Helping Hands program to immediately launch following a family’s Great Day so that they continue to experience relief from daily stressors.

The program manager also coordinates with our vendor partners to determine how to best fulfill the needs of the family’s support plan. We have worked closely with several vendors in the past that have either donated their respective services or provided significant discounts.

Volunteers are integral to our program—they are what enable us to lessen the emotional burdens of families participating in Great Day experiences. Our volunteer board of directors drive the planning process once a family is selected for a Great Day experience—they review the family’s property to determine day-of needs and plan the Great Day activities. While our families are out enjoying their Great Day, it is our team of local volunteers and businesses that make it possible for the family to come home to completed household chores and maintenance tasks that have fallen to the wayside while the family has focused on battling cancer.

The December 5th Fund staff consists of2 paid employees - the founder and the program manager. The program manager is the primary point of contact for the families and remains in communication with them throughout the 3-month timeframe of the Helping Hands program. Following the completion of the program, the manager will spearhead the evaluation process described in depth below and complete stewardship projects to maintain close relationships with our corporate sponsors. This individual works with corporate partners to determine the most efficient and cost-effective way to meet the goals of the support plan.

Since December 2016, over 350 individuals have participated in at least one of our “Great Day” experiences. In 2019, 13 families received a “Great Day” and continuous support through the Helping Hands Support Plan.

the Great Day program is successful in large part due to the over 500 volunteers of all ages that have given their time to help ease the burdens of household chores for families afflicted with cancer.

We have recently hired a Program Manager that will take on the responsibilities of working directly with the families, coordinating with volunteers, and negotiating with vendors for the expansion of Helping Hands following the One Great Day experience.