For any parent of a pediatric cancer patient, for both the parent and child, the journey is difficult, physically, emotionally and fiscally.  Erica Neubert Campbell of Edina, Minnesota recognized this, and inspired by the story of a courageous nine-year-old, joined the Pinky Swear Foundation, which seeks to take care of the financial health of a family while it deals with the cancer journey of a child.  She is now the Foundation’s executive director.

 

In 2003, there was a nine-year-old boy in the Twin Cities area named Mitch Chepokas.  He had been diagnosed with terminal bone cancer.  One evening he was in the hospital with his dad and overheard a family in the room next door talking about how they couldn’t afford Christmas presents, and it broke Mitch’s heart.  Mitch turned to his dad and wanted to know how much money was in his, Mitch’s, savings account.  His dad said Mitch had about $6,000.  In that moment, Mitch asked his dad to empty the account.  His dad returned with the balance, in cash.  They stuffed the money into envelopes, which they anonymously left in the room each kid.

 

After distributing the envelopes in the middle of the night, Mitch said to his dad, “That was awesome.  I love giving.  I can’t wait to do it again next year.”  Mitch’s parents were honest with him about the boy’s prognosis, and his dad said, “I’m sorry, buddy, I don’t think you are going to be here next year.  That’s when nine-year-old Mitch took a deep breath and with the courage of a leader and the innocence of a child, said, “Okay, dad, will you pinkyswear promise me that you will keep doing this after I’m gone?” 

 

Shortly after that, Mitch passed away and his parents founded the Pinky Swear Foundation.  Today the Foundation does what Mitch did, just on a much larger scale.  That first year, Mitch gave away $6,000.  In 2022, Erica says the Foundation gave away approximately $1.4 million across the country to families that really needed that financial support to keep food on the table, to stay in housing and medical expenses, because of that original pinkyswear promise.

 

In addition to the fiscal piece, the Pinky Swear Foundation also reaches out to help parents and siblings with the emotional challenges face by a family with a pediatric cancer patient.  Erica says it can be a balancing act for a parent, caring for the child battling cancer, while the other kids in the family need attention as well.  The Foundation tries to help in this area as well.

 

There is a wealth of information one can gain from the Foundation’s website.  It is www.pinkyswearfoundation.org.  This is also where one can go to apply for financial aid.  There is a button in the top right corner of the homepage that says Apply, and that will get the process started.  Erica says she has heard from families and social workers who work with families on this, just how easy the application process is. 

Erica Neubert Campbell says the Foundation can always use more fundraisers and more funds because there are times in which they cannot immediately come to the aid of everyone who applies.  But even when that happens, she says, the Foundation tries to find a way to eventually help the applying family.

 

Additional Resources:

 

Pinky Swear Foundation Website: www.pinkyswearfoundation.org