This trailblazing non-profit is fighting pediatric cancer in Columbus, and here’s how you can help
After expanding from Cincinnati to Central Ohio last year, the unique non-profit CancerFree KIDS is on the front lines in the fight against pediatric cancer here in Columbus.
In the United States, 1 in 260 children are diagnosed with cancer by their 20th birthday, and In the state of Ohio alone, more than 500 children are diagnosed each year. CancerFree KIDS aims to fund research dedicated to childhood cancers and discovering new treatments. The organization’s goal is to “eradicate cancer as a life-threatening disease in children by funding promising research that might otherwise go unfunded.”
And it’s not only a valiant effort, it’s a necessary one, as today less than 8% of all federally funded cancer research focuses on childhood cancers, and only 6 FDA-approved drugs designed specifically to treat childhood cancer exist, while adult-specific cancer drugs number in the hundreds.
CancerFree KIDS works primarily through raising funds that are invested in innovative childhood cancer research, and the organization is also the top funder of early-stage pediatric cancer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH). Last December alone, CancerFree KIDS announced it awarded $1.4 million in research grants, with nearly half of this, $650,000 in total, going to NCH.
While you can donate any time here or sign up to be a volunteer here, there are other active ways to get involved, including CFK’s 2025 100 Mile Challenge, presented by S & S Health. Registration for the 2025 Challenge is open now. It serves as a 30-day fitness challenge during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, when participants complete 100 miles of physical activity and raise $100 to fund childhood cancer research. Individuals and teams are encouraged to sign up.
“Funding for pediatric cancer research is super important,” said CancerFree KIDS Columbus Board Medical Vice Chair and a five-time CancerFree KIDS grant recipient, Dr. Ryan D. Roberts of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “I find it easy to fight for kids who face immense challenges, whose diseases have received far less attention than many of our adult diseases, and who have so much life ahead of them that it’s hard to say they don’t deserve the same fair shake at having a cure.”
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