VALENTINE PROJECT INC

Description

The Valentine Project is a nonprofit that spreads love to children whose lives have been affected by cancer or a chronic illness by sending them gift boxes on Valentine's Day. Our outreach extends to current patients and survivors as well as to their siblings. By visiting the website, volunteers from anywhere in the world can choose a child's name and make a personalized Valentine's Day care package for that child. Then the volunteer sends the box to our home in Ohio, where we inspect, pack, and ship each box to the designated child.

The Valentine Project is a product of our experiences working with children with cancer and their siblings. We noticed that many patients and siblings do not look forward to Valentine's Day. Because of the physical, emotional, and cognitive side effects of cancer treatment, not to mention the absences from school, these children often do not receive much love from their peers on Valentine's Day. Going through cancer can be lonely for patients and siblings alike, and Valentine's Day often serves to highlight that loneliness. Gradually, we learned that many of the social challenges that children with cancer face affect all children with chronic illnesses as well as their siblings. We expanded our outreach to reflect this.