WHAT WE DO
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FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Teddy Bear provides grants in the amount of $2,000 - $5,000 per qualifying family for the following needs:
Full or partial payment of one month’s rent or mortgage
Car payment and necessary vehicle maintenance
Payment of utility bills to bring past due amounts up-to-date and avoid disconnections
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The following services are offered and available to ALL families of a child with cancer who is being treated at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital:
FINANCIAL PLANNING
Financial aid is necessary, but we also offer long-term assistance in the form of one-on-one consultations with a professional financial advisor. Advisors help to assess the family’s financial situation and create a feasible plan to get them through the crisis with their finances intact.
PARENT SUPPORT GROUPS
These groups provide a uniquely beneficial form of support, offering parents both an educational presentation and a place to meet others enduring a similar situation. The groups are facilitated by social workers from Cottage Hospital and the Cancer Center. Only another parent with a child suffering from cancer can fully understand the pain these parents are going through, and the realization that they are not alone in their battle provides a unique sense of comfort.
CARE PACKAGES
Care packages are given to the families of children in Cottage Hospital. They consist of gift certificates from various local markets and restaurants, toys for the child and his or her siblings, and a “Parent Pax.” Each Parent Pax contains toiletries, including toothpaste, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, deodorant, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and a towel; and other helpful items, such as a phone card, a disposable camera, and a voucher for food that can be delivered to the hospital.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
Occasionally, the child must undergo treatment far from the family home, making visits difficult and costly. Hospitals generally have limited accommodations; Cottage Hospital has only five cottages available and even a family lucky enough to stay in one must pay a modest fee, which can add up over the course of a several week- or month-long treatment. Teddy Bear helps to ease this financial burden by offering free hotel accommodations to immediate family during an emergency or an unusually extended hospital stay.
KIDS’ DAYS & FAMILY FUN EVENTS
The Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation puts on fun activities for children and their families throughout the year. These “fun days” provide an opportunity for kids to meet other kids like them, helping them to feel less alone, and giving them a break from constantly thinking about their treatment.
BODY & MIND STRENGTH TRAINING
Facilitated by the Titan Sports Performance Center, this program is offered to cancer patients between the ages of eight and 21. The program provides fitness and wellness instruction, as approved by a physician, to aid in the recovery process. The program gives children the necessary tools to resume healthy, active lifestyles and the confidence to pursue sports and recreational activities, with or without limitations.
TEDDY BEAR STORYTELLERS
Twice a week, a Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation volunteer visits Cottage Hospital to read stories to the children in pediatrics. The books are donated by Cold Springs School Scholastic Books and some storytelling moms.
AUTOMOBILE DONATIONS
Families need reliable transportation during their child’s treatment process. When necessary, the Foundation acquires a suitable vehicle. The vehicle undergoes a mechanical inspection, and is then signed over to the family, making hospital visits and spontaneous travel easy.
LITTLE EXTRAS
Disneyland trips
LA Lakers & Kings games
Cirque du Soleil, Las Vegas
Karate programs
Taekwondo training & tutoring
Mentor programs
Thanks to our wonderful sponsors, we’re occasionally able to brighten the lives of some very deserving young people. Some families elect to go to Sea World, where the kids can live out their dream to swim with dolphins, while other families choose parks such as Disneyland or events like an L.A. Kings hockey game or a Lakers basketball game.
Celebrity Kindness
Adam Sandler- Actor
Kobe Bryant- Athlete, L.A. Lakers
Emeril- Celebrity Chef
Criss Angel- Magician
Malloy Brothers- Surfers
FUNERAL FUND
The saddest reality of cancer is that sometimes kids die. When our kids can’t beat it, we assist the families with funeral arrangements, helping to pay for such things as funeral home costs, cemetery plots, headstones and other expenses that arise.