The NCCS Mentoring Program was created to help children with cancer better adjust to their treatment, increase their self-confidence, reduce anxiety and have someone that truly understands what they are going through.
The program pairs a younger child in treatment (age 10-17) with a Beyond the Cure Ambassador Scholarship recipient who becomes a trusted ally for kids currently facing the challenges of childhood cancer. The NCCS works hard to connect a mentor with the same diagnosis and treatment as their mentee.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1596057117693{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]
Meet Sam
Sam loved having NCCS mentors. He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of four and still gets quarterly treatment. “They had a weekly phone date and he would gear the conversation to whatever Sam was interested in,” said Sam’s mom. “He also got Sam excited about his future, about college and goals. It was great to watch them share their lives with each other,” she added.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”62px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1596056997118{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]
Meet Clarissa
Clarissa, now 21, was a mentor while in college. She was paired with a 13 year old girl who was battling similar emotional problems she faced when she was a teenage cancer patient. “She was struggling because she’s transitioning in and out of school and I had some of those same issues,” Clarissa explained.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1596050239713{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Mentors facilitate growth by sharing personal experiences, creating a safe and trusting environment and focusing on the mentee’s total development. They provide support via phone calls, text, email or video calls. This unique relationship fills a need for kids with cancer that no parent, sibling, friend or social worker is able to do.
The experience not only benefits the mentees but the program is extremely beneficial to the mentors, as well. Being a mentor had such a positive impact on Clarissa, she decided to major in psychology and is now living in Australia and working in research at the Behavioral Sciences Unit at the Kids Cancer Centre.
If you would like more information about the mentor program and/or would like an application, please contact Jessica Cook at jcook@thenccs.org.