Book for Hope ®️ childhood cancer organization is in Paducah, Kentucky. We are a 501 (c)(3) with an unpaid Board of Directors and Officers. In the year 2015, we became a nonprofit. I wrote a book and gave it the title, It’s Christmas Again, to give families hope that there can be life after a cancer diagnosis. So now you know how Book for Hope got its name.
I did not want royalty money and thought the only hospital a child could receive cancer treatment was at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. In the beginning, we only gave to childhood cancer research. However, after seeing families struggle with bills at home, we voted in 2017 to financially help families with a child on cancer treatment and currently give 32% to childhood cancer research.
Regardless of what hospital a family takes their child to for cancer treatment, there are still bills at home. Book for Hope helps families in Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois, and some counties in Tennessee that have a child actively in cancer treatment, and we do not care what hospital a child receives treatment. We have had families in Memphis, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, New York City, Chicago, Illinois, and all over the United States.
Book for Hope has an application online at www. bookforhope.org that pediatric oncology social workers complete and email to our organization. Once the application is received, we overnight an emergency envelope to the family. The emergency envelope contains a $150.00 pre-loaded Visa Card, a $50.00 Fuel Card, and a $50.00 Restaurant Card valued at $254.95 (includes the $4.95 activation fee for the Visa Card). Each family we have can receive $2454.95 per the first year and, after that, $2400.00 each year the child is still on cancer treatment.
After receiving a one-time emergency envelope, the family can submit a bill to our organization for payment the following month. In the beginning, we could give so much more to families, but with the increase in childhood cancer in our region, we cap out at $200.00 per month for each family. Some families have a child that has been on cancer treatment for years. There are many things Book for Hope board members do out of their wallets, too.
Out of the billions of dollars given by the Federal Government to the (NCI) National Cancer Institute, a Federal agency, children only receive 4% of funding for cancer research. In comparison, adults receive 96% of funding for cancer research. We see the disparity in childhood cancer research and adult cancer research. Children are not small adults and deserve better cancer treatment. Instead, they must take adult cancer treatments.
There is a statement that children are not profitable for the pharmaceutical industry.
Our organization believes that Jesus loves little children and adolescents. We don’t care about race, ethnicity, socio-economics, or gender. Cancer does NOT discriminate. Book for Hope is here for children that are diagnosed with cancer. The number one disease-related cause of death in children is cancer.
Please tell people about Book for Hope if you know someone with a child on cancer treatment. Also, we will help with connecting the families to other nonprofits that do so many different things. Finally, we will pray for the child and family as they go through the storm.
Written by Mrs. Gaylon Hayden, President
Book for Hope, Inc.
Just Imagine® a cure
