Gift from a Child
Take the #handstands4cures challenge to Stop Cancer From Stealing Childhoods. Each year 15,780 children will have their childhood taken away from them. No time for handstands, no strength for handstands.
Here’s what to do:
- State you’re doing the Give a HAND, Take a STAND Challenge and have someone film or take a picture of you doing a handstand.
- Nominate a handful of people to complete the challenge next! – The most creative videos will be shared on our pages!
- Make sure you use #Handstands4Cures and tag us in your submissions!
- Make your posts public so we can share them
More details and ideas are on our GiftfromaChild website
Michael's Story
Before his death at 15, Michael Gustafson hatched what he called his "master plan" - and laid the foundation for what Swifty does today.
Gift from a Child
Gift from a Child is a national initiative supported by families who have lost children to brain cancer, private foundations and medical professionals.
Improving Collaborations
Swifty is helping to build a more collaborative and innovative cancer community. There is so much more we can do together!
What's Happening? Opportunities To Take Action
The Swifty community is full of people like you. Together, we're moving toward hope one event at a time.
Disturbing Facts About Childhood Cancer
Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death BY DISEASE for children in the U.S. …. It exceeds deaths by all other diseases combined. Only 4 pennies of every FEDERAL dollar available for cancer research goes to fund PEDIATRIC cancer research.
Learn More
How is brain cancer different in kids?
All brain tumors can change in response to cancer treatment – but this is especially true for kids, whose bodies are growing and changing anyway. You could be diagnosed with one type of cancer, but have a very different type years later.
To improve treatments, researchers need to better understand the ways kids’ cancers change and transform over time. This means studying as much donated tissue as possible, from as many cancer stages as possible.
But it’s often difficult for families to donate tissue for research – and when they do donate, it’s difficult for researchers to share their findings widely. Swifty is helping to change that.
Recent Blog Posts
Together Toward Hope
Love and Comfort in the Final Days
If I had a choice, I would be an “expert” on how the brain works, American history or songs from the 70’s. Unfortunately, I have just a little knowledge of those interesting topics. I do however have experience in losing a child to cancer, not a topic anyone would ever sign up to learn about….
Young Investigator Award
Swifty is proud to partner with Alex’s Lemonade Stand to help fund their Young Investigators Innovation grant. Dr. Eric Raabe’s from Johns Hopkins is researching the most devastating kind of Medulloblastoma, MYC-driven medullo. The good news is Dr. Raabe’s lab has been successful with finding an oral drug with better brain penetration that will kill…
Press Release: Gift from a Child
For Immediate Release March 13, 2019 Swifty Foundation Launches Research Initiative Called Gift from a Child WOODRIDGE, Ill.—Swifty Foundation, a pediatric brain cancer research foundation based in Woodridge, Ill., has announced the launch of a new research initiative called Gift from a Child. The mission of Gift from a Child is to increase post-mortem brain…