2026 Summer Impact Report
Because of you...
Twenty years of donors, volunteers, healthcare providers, and community partners have made it possible for Connor’s Heroes to walk alongside children with cancer and their families. This year, we’re looking back at what that’s built, and what it means for the families still ahead. Thank you.
Our Impact
So far in 2026, more than 600 children, parents, and caregivers were touched by the Connor’s Heroes community: relief when bills felt impossible, warmer hospital rooms, and hope that showed up in a hundred small ways. Take a look at our 2026 Summer Impact Report below.
2026 Impact (so far)
600+
children, parents, siblings, and caregivers
were touched by Connor’s Heroes this year
Every Hero family
receives $2,500
for every year their
child is in treatment.
152
families supported
in active treatment
43
New families
welcomed this year
How We Show Up For Families
Connor’s Heroes provides personalized support to ease the burdens families face throughout treatment. From helping cover everyday necessities to supporting specialized medical and travel needs, every dollar is directed to meet families where they are and help them focus on what matters most: their child
Every Hero family receives $2,500, on average, for every year their child is in treatment, money that means a parent can fill the gas tank to get to chemo, or keep the lights on, instead of choosing between the two.
- Gas cards
- Grocery cards
- Travel assistance
- Backpacks with iPads
- Parent Totes with $250 Visa Gift Cards
Long hospital stays wear on a family in ways that go beyond medicine. We’re there for the meals that get skipped, the transplant recovery that stretches for weeks, and the routine visits that never stop being hard.
- Inpatient support
- Bone marrow transplant support
- Clinic visits
- Meals and snacks
Treatment doesn’t stop childhood. A Family Fun Pack, a birthday remembered, an afternoon at the park: these are the moments that remind a child they’re still a kid, not just a patient.
- Family Fun Packs
- Art Sessions
- Park Days
- Summer Send-Off
- Birthday and milestone celebrations
We fund a full-time Child Life Specialist at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, someone whose entire job is helping a child understand what’s happening to them, and helping a parent hold it together while they do.
Not every hardship fits a program. When a family’s hardest moment falls outside the usual categories, the Unique Needs Fund means we can still say yes.
When a child dies, a family’s need for support does not end, and neither does ours. We continue walking alongside families for up to a year after a child’s passing, because grief doesn’t run on anyone else’s timeline.
- $1,000 toward funeral and memorial expenses, with support for up to a year
- Emotional support and meaningful contact
- Referrals to counseling and grief resources
A decorated hospital room can be the difference between a space that feels clinical and one that feels like home, and for a child spending weeks there, that difference matters.
From a brain tumor biobank to bone marrow transplant research, your support funds the research that moves treatment forward, for children in Richmond and for children everywhere.
Together, we Raised Over $1 Million for Families Facing Childhood Cancer
In May, the Connor’s Heroes Art Ball broke every record in its 20-year history. More than 750 guests came together to honor 12 Hero Families and raise over $1 million for families in treatment and pediatric cancer research, the largest single-night total the event has ever seen. Every dollar raised that night becomes what you’ve already read about here: gas cards, hospital meals, a decorated room, a family no longer facing this alone.
Save the Date!
16th Annual Heroes Art Ball
May 14, 2027