OUR STORY
When a child is diagnosed with cancer the news is devastating, everything changes in an instant. Immediate hospitalization is often required, far from home, family and friends with no time to pack or plan. Most initial stays are weeks long. It seems there are more questions than available answers. Faced with the unimaginable, families commonly feel afraid, guilty, angry, powerless yet still hopeful. Sudden immersion into hospital life and learning a whole new vocabulary while keeping up with blood counts, protocols, the merits of clinical trials, necessary scans, impending surgeries and side effects of radiation and chemotherapy drugs is overwhelming.

Circle of Care was started by three moms who met during their children's own battle with pediatric cancer. We looked to each other for support, information and a sense of belonging. We shared our stories and tips for how to cope. Through all the laughter and tears during the years of treatment our children endured, we knew we had to give back. We wanted to share what we had learned and help those just beginning this journey. Having been there we knew just where to start. We began with Bags of Love, our day of diagnosis care package, and have since expanded to offer 6 programs throughout Connecticut. In July of 2003, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit foundation was formed under the sponsorship of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Foundation for Children, Inc. and Circle of Care was born.

OUR MISSION
Is to provide immediate and ongoing peer support to families of children with cancer. Our programs are designed to provide families with everyday essentials to ease the burden of hospitalization, facilitate research and communication with family and friends, brighten a sick child's room, and generally support the family through the difficult days following a cancer diagnosis.