The Climb for Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to help ease the pain and suffering of those affected by cancer.  Co-founded by Ron and Dianne Farb in 2002, our small Foundation has made a tangible impact on the lives of many people fighting the disease. The Foundation has funded or created several psycho-social programs which provide support to the patient and the family, funded research grants, and given kids an opportunity to attend cancer camps. The Foundation likes to think that its small gifts fill in the cracks left by organizations that make much larger gifts.

Five psycho-social programs include Lifeline, Families First, Parent-to-Parent, The Butterfly Connection, Streetlight and the Cancer Survivorship Program at the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center. Lifeline is a program which focuses on the needs of the cancer caregiver, who are critical to the well-being of cancer survivors. The program prepares them for the "marathon" of caregiving and helps prevent burnout and other adverse effects.

Families First is a program at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida that helps parents and their children as they adjust to the changes that occur within the family when a parent has cancer. Information, preparation, and support enables families to cope successfully in the face of a serious illness.

Parent-to-Parent is a program at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida in a mentoring program that pairs parents whose children have completed treatment with parents whose children are currently undergoing treatment. The program offers support, comfort, and understanding to those parents dealing with their child's cancer.

The Butterfly Connection is a unique program created and funded by the Foundation, which partners the Arts in Medicine Program at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida and the Florida Museum of Natural History Butterfly Rainforest. This program provides cancer patients and their caregivers to experience the beauty and serenity of the Butterfly Rainforest free of charge.

Streetlight is designed to meet the specific and unique psycho-social needs of the adolescent/young adult with cancer. Adolescent patients, whose lives have been derailed by cancer, are educated and empowered so that they can rediscover lost goals and successfully navigate their way into the adult world ahead of them.

Cancer survivors experience a vast array of challenges and frequently fail to receive optimal follow-up care. The newly-established Cancer Survivorship Program at the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center will offer clinical assessment and patient education to survivors of pediatric cancer and will find better ways to empower cancer survivors and their families to understand the long-term health and social consequences of surviving cancer.

The latest program, Harriet's Helping Hand, named for co-founder, Ron's sister, helps defray the cost of treatment by providing parking vouchers, food vouchers, and gas cards to cancer patients and their families.

Additionally, the Foundation gives “seed money” to support cancer research projects in the early phases of development. This "seed" funding is critical to allow researchers to explore new ideas that have potential to lead to important developments in cancer research, treatment and prevention. The Foundation partners with well-established scientific organizations to identify, review and prioritize requests for funding.

Finally, kids are given the opportunity to attend cancer camps, including Camp Sunshine, Camp Boggy Creek, and the Foundation's annual sports camp at the University of Florida.

Stories about the Foundation’s latest gifts can be found at News and Upcoming Events.