Caring Kids
Reported March 8, 2004
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- More than 1 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Many of those people will have children who often feel as if they're all alone when they learn of their parent's illness. Now, kids can help other children cope by offering pint-size shoulders to lean on.
A cancer diagnosis is an incredible burden for a 6-year old, but in this room, Lesley Smith knows she's not alone. This is Kids Konnected -- a support group run by kids for kids whose parents have cancer. "I needed to talk to kids who knew what it was like to have a parent with cancer," says Jon Wagner-Holtz, co-founder of Kids Konnected, in Orange County, Calif.
Wagner-Holtz was just 11-years-old when he asked 12-year-old Kelly Hill to help bring his idea to life. Both had mothers with breast cancer and no one to talk to. "I said, 'Yes, absolutely.' I had to go through this alone, and it was tough. I didn't want any other kids to have to do that," says Hill, co-founder of Kids Konnected.
With donations, they turned Kids Konnected into more than a support group. Today it throws parties, provides a summer camp, and runs a 24-hour hotline. Hill says: "We do want to be informed. Maybe we don't have to know everything, but do tell us something and on a level we can understand."
Wagner-Holtz and Hill went on to college, but with groups in several states, Kids Konnected lives on. "If your mom or dad died, they help you feel better," says Lesley Smith, who lost her mother to cancer.
These two are proof you don't always need a Ph.D. in psychology to provide support. The support groups always include a psychologist or social worker. For more information on starting a Kids Konnected program in your community, call (800) 899-2866. One other note, the two kids that started this program -- Wagner-Holtz and Hill -- both have mothers who are survivors of breast cancer.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Carol Reed, Executive Director
Kids Konnected
2701 Cabot Road
Suite 102
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
(800) 899-2866
http://www.kidskonnected.org
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.