Valerie Fund Celebrates 50 Years of Supporting NJ Families of Children Facing Serious Illness

When a child is diagnosed with cancer or a serious blood disorder, the entire family is changed, swept into navigating doctor’s appointments, hospital visits, and a constant undercurrent of uncertainty. 

For five decades, the Valerie Fund has been helping New Jersey-area families with multilevel support through a network of social workers, child-life specialists, psychologists and educational liaisons to help manage the array of practical challenges of a child’s diagnosis. 

Founded in 1976 by Ed and Sue Goldstein in memory of their 9-year-old daughter, Valerie, the couple turned their experience into the guiding force of their foundation. Upon this milestone year, the Goldsteins say, “Fifty years ago, we wanted to do something in Valerie’s name. Our goal was to bring first-class pediatric cancer care to New Jersey families, in a children’s center close to home. We have come a long way, with eight Valerie Fund children’s Centers and a Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Program. Now, families can walk into a Valerie Fund Children’s Center and be surrounded by a blanket of care provided by our psychosocial support team.”

The first Valerie Fund Children’s Center opened at Overlook Medical Center in Summit. Today, the Goldsteins’ mission has grown into a network of centers with a range of programs, including transportation assistance, as well as scholarships totaling more than $1.9 million to date. 

The fund continues to expand with new programs, such as Camp Happy Times, opened in 1983, dedicated to giving children who have or have had cancer a place to be in a supportive, fun environment equipped for their needs. The current All About the Kids and Families Who Love Them campaign is funding the Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care program at Hackensack University Hospital, as well as a new and expanded network for pyschosocial care.

Fifty years later, the foundation continues to operate from the Goldsteins’ belief that no family should have to face childhood illness alone. Visit valeriefund.org to learn more.