Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Cancer survivor Lauren Lesage helped raise the flag in front of the Collingwood Public Library on Friday September 1st in honour of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Candlelighters Simcoe is a volunteer-driven, not-for-profit organization with a mandate to provide support services to families impacted by childhood cancer in Simcoe County and the surrounding area. Programs are designed to address the complex emotional, academic, financial, and practical challenges associated with a pediatric cancer diagnosis, easing the burden of children and their families.

Candlelighters Simcoe was founded in 1990 by Barbara Johnson, a Pediatric Occupational Therapist and mother of three now-grown children, one of whom is a two-time childhood cancer survivor. During her son’s battle with childhood cancer, Barbara recognized gaps in support services for families of children with cancer. Over the course of nearly three decades, she has worked tirelessly to fill in those gaps through the work of Candlelighters Simcoe, and to let families struggling with childhood cancer know that they are not alone in their fight.

A registered charity, Candlelighters Simcoe is a volunteer-driven, Candlelighters Simcoe is part of a provincial organization called Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer (OPACC) that serves families by providing information, engaging in advocacy, and encouraging and assisting in the development of parent support groups.