Accomplishments
Kids Beating
Cancer's Founder and CEO received the impressive 2004 Community
Honoree Award from the National Speaking of Women's Health Foundation.
This award was presented at the 2004 Orlando Convention on August 14, 2004 at
the Orlando Convention Center.
Kids Beating
Cancer in 2004 received a "Helping Kids Shine " Grant from
the Walt Disney World Corporation for $13,000, and from 1997-2001
received Walt Disney World Corporation Community Service Awards, including the "Judges Choice Award" twice, the
“Special Judges Award” once, and the "Special Health Services " Award twice,
totaling $76,000 donated along with the community service awards. These awards
are given to organizations they feel have made significant contributions to
the community, surpassing their goals and expectations.
Kids Beating
Cancer has met the strict requirements to be accepted as one
of America’s Charities for the State of Florida for the past 5 years. Margaret Guedes, CEO and founder, received the Southeastern and National America's
Charities Community Leadership 2002 Awards for exemplary service to her
community and the charitable community at large.
Kids Beating
Cancer's Annual Festival of Lights Holiday Party and Candle Lighting
Ceremony, has provided Gift Certificates for families for food, blankets,
clothing, and basic necessities, toys, bicycles, and teddy bears to over 3,000
physically and financially disadvantaged children with cancer, leukemia, other
medically fragile conditions, and related life-threatening illnesses.
Kids Beating
Cancer met the stringent qualifications to be contracted
with the National Marrow Donor Program, as the first Marrow Donor Recruitment
Group of it’s kind for the State of Florida. Kids Beating Cancer has DNA
typed over 18,000 Florida volunteers willing to donate a small amount of their
marrow or blood stem cells if ever matched with patient in need, thus,
offering patients locally and all over the world a chance at a cure. Kids Beating Cancer
has
facilitated hundreds of donor recruitment drives, funding the DNA blood
testing necessary to identify donors for patients. This blood test is never
covered by Insurance. Every month potential matches are identified for
patients waiting for a marrow or stem cell transplant. Medicaid does not fund
the cost of the blood test to identify a brother or sister as a possible match
for a child in need of a transplant. Through KBC’s funding of these lab
costs, siblings have been identified as perfect matches allowing the child to
go quickly to transplant.
Kids Beating
Cancer has funded medical and life-enhancing interventions when not
covered by insurance for medically fragile and cancer children receiving home
care and living in Medical Foster Homes.
Kids Beating
Cancer has provided thousands of hours of therapeutic art with the
children while on treatment, special celebrations, milestone and birthday
gifts, Teddy Bears and bicycles, in addition to unique one-on-one support with
the families throughout the treatment process, during crisis, and when death
of the child is eminent.
