September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.But for families facing a childhood cancer diagnosis, awareness is only the beginning.
Every day, children are diagnosed with cancers that are rare, aggressive and critically underfunded. Rare pediatric cancers affect smaller patient populations, which can mean fewer clinical trials, less pharmaceutical investment and far fewer treatment options.
At the Isabella Santos Foundation (ISF), we believe these kids deserve better.
This September, we’re asking our community to do more than wear gold or share a post. Turn awareness into action.
Run. Give. Show up. Share the facts. Support the researchers, hospitals and programs working every day to give kids with cancer more options and better outcomes.
Because cancer messed with the wrong kids, families, researchers and community.
Why Your Support Matters
Childhood cancer research has made tremendous progress. However, that progress has not reached every child equally.
Rare pediatric cancers, for example neuroblastoma, sarcomas, and certain brain tumors, affect fewer children individually. That often means smaller patient populations, fewer clinical trials, less pharmaceutical investment and fewer treatment options.
For families, “rare” can mean hearing that the best available treatment was developed decades ago. It can mean traveling hundreds of miles to access specialized care or a clinical trial. It can mean treatments that save a child’s life, although they leave lasting physical and emotional effects.
The Isabella Santos Foundation exists to help change that.
Through the TORCH Initiative (Transformational Outcomes for Rare Cancer Heroes), ISF invests in innovative clinical research, basic science, survivorship support and critical hospital needs designed to improve outcomes for children facing rare cancers.
And the need continues to grow.
As a result, the latest TORCH funding cycle generated 71 Letters of Intent from more than 25 leading pediatric hospital systems and research institutions across the United States, demonstrating both the extraordinary innovation happening in pediatric cancer and the significant funding gap standing between promising ideas and the children who need them.
Those proposals represent researchers and institutions working to find better answers for children who cannot afford to wait.
Every donation helps ISF say yes to more of that work.
Learn More About the TORCH Initiative
What Your Donation Makes Possible
When you give to the Isabella Santos Foundation, you consequently help move promising ideas from the research lab toward the children waiting for better options.
Through TORCH, ISF supports work across four critical areas:
Clinical Research
Expanding access to cutting-edge treatments for children with rare pediatric cancers.
Basic Science Research
Investing in scientific discovery that can unlock new ways to understand and treat rare cancers.
Survivorship Support
With this purpose in mind, support programs that address the long-term physical and emotional effects children and families can experience during and after treatment.
Home Hospital Needs
Helping hospitals address critical gaps in pediatric cancer care for children and their families.
This approach allows ISF to invest not only in the next scientific breakthrough, but also in the whole child and family navigating cancer today.
See Where TORCH Is Making an Impact
Supporting Pediatric Cancer Care in Charlotte and Beyond
ISF was born in Charlotte, and our community continues to play a powerful role in advancing pediatric cancer care both locally and beyond.
Levine Children’s Hospital
ISF’s longstanding partnership with Levine Children’s Hospital helped establish the Isabella Santos Foundation Rare & Solid Tumor Program, which opened in 2020 to expand comprehensive care and innovative treatment options for children with solid tumors, brain cancers and rare pediatric cancers.
Today, children travel from across the country and around the world to Charlotte to access specialized expertise and treatment, and ISF continues to invest in innovative research at Levine through TORCH.
Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital
Cancer treatment affects far more than a child’s tumor.
Through TORCH, ISF supports whole-child care at Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital, including expanded nutrition, mental health and creative arts programs that support children and families throughout treatment and survivorship.
These programs help address the emotional, physical and practical challenges that come with a pediatric cancer diagnosis while helping children continue to feel like kids.
And ISF’s reach now extends well beyond Charlotte. Through TORCH, ISF is funding high-impact work at leading pediatric institutions across the Southeast, with projects spanning immunotherapy, brain tumor research, rare sarcoma research, survivorship and more.
How to Take Action During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Awareness matters most when it leads somewhere.
Here are a few ways you can turn your support into action this September.
Run for Kids Fighting Cancer
Join us Saturday, September 26, at Rea Farms for the 2026 ISF 5K for Kids Cancer, presented by Uwharrie Bank.
The race that started it all is back in Ballantyne, bringing our community together to celebrate progress, honor the children we fight for and keep pushing the mission forward.
Run the 5K, take on the one-mile fun run or bring the entire family for a morning of music, local vendors, a Kids Zone, foam party and more.
Every registration, donation and fundraising dollar helps fuel research, clinical trials and family support programs for children fighting rare pediatric cancer.
Businesses can get involved, too, by forming a team, supporting employee participation or exploring ISF sponsorship and partnership opportunities.
Register for the 2026 ISF 5K for Kids Cancer
Give Monthly. Make An Impact All Year Long.
Kids are diagnosed with cancer every month of the year. Undeniably, the fight for better treatments can’t stop when September ends.
That’s why we created the No More Cancer Club, ISF’s new monthly giving community for people who believe kids with rare cancer shouldn’t have to wait for better options.
Starting at just $20 a month, members make a recurring commitment that gives ISF consistent funding we can put to work where it can make the greatest impact, from promising research and clinical trials to programs supporting children and families throughout treatment.
Because doing good should feel good, members receive an exclusive welcome gift tied to their giving level, with additional perks along the way.
This September, we’re asking 100 people to go beyond awareness and make a commitment that lasts all year.
No more waiting. No more settling. No more cancer.
Give Blood
Blood and platelet donations are an essential part of treatment for many children with cancer.
You can make an immediate difference by donating through an upcoming Little Heroes Blood Drive or finding a blood donation opportunity near you.
Share the Facts
You don’t need to make a donation to make a difference.
Talk about childhood cancer. Share the stories of children and families. Help your friends, coworkers and community understand why rare pediatric cancer research needs greater attention and investment.
Awareness can open a door. What we do next is what creates change.
Frequently Asked Questions About Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
What is the official color for childhood cancer awareness?
Gold is the internationally recognized color for childhood cancer awareness. Throughout September, families, hospitals, nonprofits and communities use gold ribbons and displays to raise awareness of childhood cancer.
Purple remains the signature color of the Isabella Santos Foundation, representing Isabella, our roots and the mission that continues in her honor.
Where do donations for childhood cancer go?
At ISF, donations help fund innovative pediatric cancer research, clinical trials, survivorship programs and hospital-based support through the TORCH Initiative.
Funding can support everything from laboratory research and precision medicine to mental health services, nutrition programs and other resources that improve quality of life for children and families.
See How Your Donation Makes an Impact
How many children are diagnosed with cancer each day?
Approximately 42 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each day, totaling more than 15,000 pediatric cancer diagnoses annually.
Behind every statistic is a child, a family and an urgent need for better answers.
What percentage of cancer research funding goes to childhood cancer?
Historically, approximately 4% of federal cancer research funding has been dedicated to childhood cancer research.
For rare pediatric cancers, the funding challenge can be even greater. Smaller patient populations often mean less pharmaceutical investment and fewer resources available to move promising research forward.
Private philanthropy plays a critical role in helping close that gap.
What are considered rare childhood cancers?
Rare pediatric cancers include diseases such as neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma, osteosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Wilms tumor and certain pediatric brain tumors.
Because these cancers affect relatively small patient populations, research and treatment development can face significant funding and infrastructure challenges.
Learn More About ISF and Rare Pediatric Cancer
Is childhood cancer curable?
Outcomes for childhood cancer have improved dramatically, but those gains are not shared equally across every diagnosis.
Children with certain rare, relapsed or advanced cancers still face limited treatment options and significantly poorer outcomes. Survivors may also experience lifelong health complications caused by treatments developed for growing bodies.
That’s why ISF is committed not simply to helping more children survive cancer, but to advancing better, safer and more targeted treatments that allow them to thrive afterward.
How can supporting a Charlotte nonprofit impact pediatric cancer research nationwide?
Promising research can begin in one hospital and ultimately change treatment for children everywhere.
Through TORCH, ISF identifies and funds innovative pediatric cancer research and programs at leading institutions, helping researchers generate the evidence, infrastructure and momentum needed to move new ideas forward.
The latest TORCH funding cycle drew interest from more than 25 leading pediatric hospital systems and research institutions across the country.
It means a gift made here in Charlotte can help create an impact that reaches far beyond our city.
This September, Turn Awareness Into Action
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month gives us 30 days to put a brighter spotlight on a fight that families face 365 days a year.
Awareness is important. But awareness alone won’t create the next treatment.
Research will. Clinical trials will. Researchers and medical teams will. And communities willing to invest in their work will.
Whether you register for the ISF 5K for Kids Cancer, become a monthly donor, give blood, make a donation or simply help someone understand why this work matters, you become part of that progress.
Every donation helps ISF say yes to more of that work.
Cancer messed with the wrong kids.
The wrong families.
The wrong researchers.
And the wrong community.
Let’s show what happens when all of us fight back together.
Donate to ISF • Learn About TORCH • Register for the 2026 ISF 5K • Become a Monthly Donor • Learn More About ISF’s Impact