A Dream, A Vision, A Reality
Great things usually develop from dreams and Diana Hageboeck had such a dream . . . to help families of children with cancer. Her association with the Junior League of Minneapolis and their desire for a community service project was just the beginning of what would become known today as Care Partners.
Katie Hageboeck and her family chose Children’s Cancer Research Fund to be her memorial. After her death, her family wanted to increase the fund and did so by establishing a benefit which raised $50,000 for CCRF. To keep the ball rolling, the group formed an auxiliary, including a group of hospital volunteers, to raise money for future endeavors. At that time, they recognized the need for a family support system for families of children with cancer who were from out of town.
Twenty-five years later, the vision of a unique and specialized quality of life program is proving to be as successful today as it was hoped for many years ago. June of 1983 was the beginning for Children’s Cancer Assistance Research and Encouragement (C.A.R.E) after it is was conceived by the Families in Crisis focus group of the Junior League of Minneapolis.
Led by Jean Reissner, the focus group researched community needs of families and how their organization could best serve the patients and families undergoing cancer treatment. With the help of Dr. Mark Nesbit, Nancy Youngren, a pediatric oncology nurse, and Joanne Pearson, a social psychologist, the focus group and the auxiliary designed the C.A.R.E. program. Its purpose was to provide assistance to families of a child undergoing a bone marrow transplant at the University of Minnesota Hospital.
Within five years of its conception, families from throughout the country were benefiting from the services of these volunteers. By 1987, part-time coordinator, Mary Mead, was hired to serve as a liaison between the C.A.R.E. committee, the volunteers, the hospital and CCRF, with the organization providing services to 50 patients. In 1993, Pat Kasell was hired as executive director and the program soon became known as Care Partners. With their name and logo copyrighted and family volunteer trainings expanded, 1994 saw more than 130 families being served by Care Partners.
In 1995 the Unit Volunteer program was created to provide diversional activities for patients and to allow caregivers an opportunity for breaks. Monday through Friday unit volunteer coverage was the norm until 2001 when Saturday’s were added; currently unit volunteers are available seven days a week. Unit volunteers are also extremely helpful with special event projects sponsored by CCRF and Child Family Life services. Baby rockers have been implemented from our pool of family volunteers to provide additional coverage to families with infants.
As the program grew and developed, so did the needs for a variety of services. By 1996, Project Isolink was established to assist patients with their computer needs. Peer Volunteers, those volunteers having had a blood or marrow transplant, may visit with patients undergoing their procedures. Pagers and notary services are available upon request and since 2004, complimentary newspapers as well as a weekly children’s book cart which distributes new books to our pediatric patients and their siblings.
In 2007 our volunteers logged more than 2,600 hours of time with more than 125 people serving as family, unit and clinic volunteers. Care Partners serves many international families as well as providing friendship to families from outside the Twin Cities area and families who may live locally, as they may have a need for the additional support. The program continues to attract an extremely well-qualified group of adults who wish to give of their time and talents.
According to long-time volunteer Robbie Collins, during a training session in 1988, Dr. Nesbitt told the group “If you do this work, your life will never be the same.” “How right he was”, Robbie said, “I’m still doing the work, and of course we all know how it changes our lives in wonderful and deep ways.”
The medical staff at the hospital believes that the positive nature of support provided to patients and their families by the Care Partners program and their volunteers greatly enhances the treatment and lessens the stress. Our goal is to have a positive impact on the patients and their family members, whatever the outcome of the treatment. The C.A.R.E. project started as a dream of helping families in crisis. It has helped so many and, hopefully, it will continue to do so for a very long time.
If you would like to begin the application process to become a Care Partner, please fill out a volunteer information request to begin the application process.
If you have questions about Care Partners, please contact: Teresa Turner or Alex Thwaites