The Community Initiatives Program is a lottery-funded grant program that supports project-based initiatives on an approved matching grant basis. The Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta is a regular beneficiary of monies from the Community Initiatives Program.

In 2006, the Foundation received a matching grant of $45,617 for Camp SunSeeker, an adventure-based camp for young adults aged 14 to 17. Thanks to this generous grant, 33 teens were able to take part in SunSeeker this year. Designed to give teens a chance to meet new friends and connect with old ones, SunSeeker helps teens explore their independence by taking on new challenges and building leadership skills. This expedition-style camp program reaches out to teens at a difficult time in their lives and makes a lasting impact.

“Cancer comes at families like an unwanted thief,” said one parent. “It steals away a part of our lives and hopes. Your programs have given back a part of the life we lost while we try to sort out where we go from here.”

KCCFA also received $18,743 for 2007 Family Camp. With this generous grant, families across Alberta struggling with cancer will enjoy a weekend away in beautiful Kananaskis Country. At Family Camp, kids enjoy a chance to reconnect with friends from Summer Camp, while parents with a much-needed break from their hospital and work routines and a chance to connect with others going through similar experiences.

“These programs are important,” says a KCCFA parent, “because as parents with kids with cancer, we are extremely isolated and under a lot of stress. The ability to go out and socialize with other parents and the ability to go out as a family together is extremely important.”