Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Support Group (CCCSG) President Naomi Fehr joined Robyn Wiebe on the radio to talk about the significance of September to the work of the nonprofit organization.
"September has been recognized as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month for a few years, it's something that we're really striving to get out there, so people are more aware of the number of children that are diagnosed with cancer every year."
CCCSG has seen an increase in support over the years and this has helped it to find tangible ways to support the many families in the province on this childhood cancer journey.
"Every year in Manitoba, approximately 50 families are diagnosed. I would say maybe 3 or 4 out of the Pembina Valley area, which is kind of high. We send care packages to all 50 families. We provide meals up on the children's cancer ward (CK5) every week. We celebrate our high school graduates. Our childhood cancer survivor graduates get a gift card just to kind of acknowledge the hard work that they've put into and all the things that they've overcome throughout the years. We have a snack cupboard up on CK5 as well because there's a lot of hours waiting in the emergency room and stuff, and by the time they get up to the ward, it's often too late to get a meal. So, we make sure we have snacks available for the parents and the children as well."
Fehr's son Josh was diagnosed at the age of 2, just a couple weeks after she had given birth to their daughter. She described that time as a blur that many go into survival mode and get what needs to be done, done. Often there is a sense of urgency for parents to take the newly diagnosed child to Children's Hospital in Winnipeg and for further testing and treatment to take place. Josh was later diagnosed in 2011 with brain tumors and passed away January 1, 2012.
She described Josh.
"Ah, it's hard to put Josh into words. He was a firecracker, he kept everybody on their toes. He was very friendly. He drove us crazy because he was a lot of work, but I'd take it back in a heartbeat to spend any extra time with him. He was definitely a light in a lot of people's lives."
After Josh's passing Fehr took a bit of a break from Candlelighters and didn't get involved at first, noting she felt her story wasn't one that gave people hope, but with some convincing she joined the executive and has been serving the organization for several years. After years of hosting a spring online auction, this year, she said people wanted one just for food. So, until September 10th, Candlelighters Dessert & Meal Online Auction has participants uploading food for people to bid on and bidders taking part in the fun of trying to "win" the final bid, all in support of Candlelighters.
"We're pretty excited to add this new fundraiser. We are known for our yearly auction that we've run since 2012, but we decided to add another food auction only. It's called Candlelighters Dessert & Meal Auction 2024 on Facebook. You can see all sorts of goodies people have posted to bid on."
Fehr said each time a fundraiser has seen such an amazing outpouring of support, she described what she hears from the recipients of this generosity.
"So much emotion. There's a lot of emotion behind what we do. The messages we get of thanks for all the things that we do for these families. They know all of our money is poured into that because we're all volunteers, nobody gets a pay cheque out of this. Every dollar we bring in goes directly to helping families, whether it's by helping with funeral costs, new care packages, grad, anything on CK5, the children's cancer ward, all that money goes directly to them. And just to hear how they feel about it is amazing."
The Facebook online auction is on now, people can add their own meal or dessert for others to bid on, or people can join the group and bid on the donated food items. Be sure to read the instructions before getting in on the fun for such a great cause.
You can hear the full interview with Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Support Group (CCCSG) President Naomi Fehr and Robyn Wiebe below.