Striving for More

Striving for More is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of kids in the Triangle who have been diagnosed with cancer. Our mission is to provide funding for psychosocial care which includes Pediatric Psychologists, Child Life Specialists, Social Workers and Pastors.

The founder of Striving for More experienced firsthand this tragic gap in health care when her own daughter was battling cancer in 2008. For six months, she was treated by one of our areas best medical institutions. However, she was never seen by a psychologist or a pastor and the Child Life Therapy resources were stretched thin. This wakeup call led to a passion to improve this area of health care. When experiencing life threatening illness, children frequently hide their feelings of fear and worry from their families and caregivers. No child should be afraid and wondering, “why me?” while fighting for their lives but feel that they don’t have anyone to talk to. Properly trained professionals can help them better understand their condition and treatment and talk with them about their feelings to help reduce their fears.

12,400 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. While their bodies are being treated, it is also important that their heart, mind and soul be treated as well. Unfortunately, many hospitals are inadequately staffed to provide proper emotional support to children. The hospitals in the country that have successful and comprehensive psychosocial programs are donor funded. However, many hospitals have lacked the donor funding and therefore lack the psychosocial programs. We seek to improve this problem here in the Triangle.

Our mission is to raise awareness of the importance of psychosocial care for critically ill kids and to provide funding to hospital oncology units so they can implement psychosocial services to better serve the needs of children battling cancer.