The FARIS FOUNDATION

The Faris Foundation seeks to bring brighter days and better treatments to children with cancer through our work in three key areas:
1. Childhood Cancer Research: We carefully vet and fund original and transformative research in areas where there is high need and a high potential for impact – as if our child’s life depends on it. Our focus is on rare cancers where the mortality rate has not changed in decades. Our goal is to bring less toxic, targeted therapy options where there are none.
2. Art Is My Life: We believe every child with cancer should have access to art as a part of their plan of care. The Faris Foundation works to embed Masters-trained Art Therapists and Music Therapists within children’s cancer centers across the country. Our goal is to demonstrate the importance of creative art therapies as an integral aspect of pediatric cancer care.
3. Let There Be GOLD is our annual childhood cancer awareness and public engagement campaign. Every September we hold gold celebrations in children's cancer centers and galvanize communities around the cause. Our goal is to shift the public understanding of childhood cancer so that there is a broader community advocating on behalf children with cancer, and therein, increased public support for research.

1. Childhood Cancer Research: We invest in bold and transformative scientific research in rare pediatric cancer, through multi-year grants in the areas of immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and precision medicine.
2. Art Is My Life: We partner with children's cancer centers to embed Creative Arts Therapists to directly serve children and families. We measure, evaluate, and share our programs to demonstrate the transformative and healing power of the arts in a patient's medical care.
3. Let There Be GOLD: Through community partnerships with schools, museums, retail, and civic organizations, we reach broad and diverse audiences throughout the country. We integrate the arts into our campaign with a robust public art program.

Through our stakeholder relationships, we are well poised to meet our goals. Our key hospital partners include: MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital, Texas Children's Cancer Center (the nation's largest pediatric cancer center), Mount Sinai Hospital, and Ronald McDonald House Houston. We have a longstanding relationship with Prime, AT&T's largest authorized retailer, which brings Let There Be GOLD to over 2,000 stores nationwide. Additional partners include Houston Independent School District and Asia Society Texas Center, among others. Our partnerships expand our programmatic reach and enhance our capacity to meet our goals.

Progress as of February 2022:
1. In the area of research, our deep investment in the HEROS 3.0 project is now a Phase I clinical trial – the first of its kind, harnessing the power of personalized medicine and immunotherapy for children. This trial is now recruiting patients from around the world, delivering with it hope.

2. Our arts program has expanded from one cancer center to four, bringing the healing power of art to MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital, Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, and Ronald McDonald House Houston, in addition to Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

3. In the area of childhood cancer awareness, our community has grown with new partners: Wendy’s restaurants, hotels, school districts, museums, artists – like artist Roni Cabrera of HTX Art Bus, who brought the GOLD Art Bus with magical art-making opportunities to over 2000 families throughout the month of September.