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Welcome to ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation, where compassion meets dedication. Get to know the heart and soul behind our mission as you meet the ASK team – a group of passionate individuals committed to making a difference in the lives of children fighting cancer. OUR PEOPLE PEOPLE A community of care you can count on. ASK Staff Leadership Team Amy Godkin Executive Director agodkin@askccf.org ext. 102 Kimberly Stroud, MSW Director of Programs kstroud@askccf.org ext. 106 Rachael Schrinel Director of Philanthropy rschrinel@askccf.org ext. 103 Barbara Snuggs Director of Finance & Administration bsnuggs@askccf.org ext. 115 Program Team Alma Morgan Associate Director of Education amorgan@askccf.org ext. 117 Michelle Jarnigan-Johnson Young Adult Support Coordinator mjohnson@askccf.org ext. 107 Laura Pruitt Program Events Coordinator lpruitt@askccf.org ext. 120 Dayana Bjorkman Bilingual Community Coordinator (Spanish/English) dbjorkman@askccf.org Katie Barber Child Life Specialist kbarber@askccf.org ext. 109 Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU Rev. Rich Catlett, BCC Chaplain rcatlett@askccf.org ext. 108 Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU Jon Longenecker Education Support Navigator jlongenecker@askccf.org ext. 113 Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU Amy Fender Education Support Navigator afender@askccf.org ext. 119 Carilion Children's Grant Pavlik Education Support Navigator gpavlik@askccf.org ext. 118 Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters Lisa Meares Education Support Navigator lmeares@askccf.org ext. 122 Inova Schar Cancer Institute Vanessa Wagener Bilingual Education Support Navigator vwagener@askccf.org ext. 132 Inova Schar Cancer Institute Natalie Duncan Education Support Navigator nduncan@askccf.org ext. 123 UVA Children's Hospital Tammy Long Fredericksburg Community Coordinator tlong@askccf.org ext. 126 Kristen Lahocki First STEP Preschool Teacher klahocki@askccf.org Beanie Mackenzie Richmond Tutor bmackenzie@askccf.org ext. 130 Sue Brooks Fredericksburg Tutor sbrooks@askccf.org ext. 131 Development & Marketing Team Hanna Gardner Associate Director of Marketing hgardner@askccf.org ext. 125 Kelsey Olszewski Associate Director of Development kolszewski@askccf.org ext. 105 Danielle Hottle Grant Manager dhottle@askccf.org ext. 128 Anna Siegle Development Operations Coordinator asiegle@askccf.org ext. 116 Caitlin Glauser Special Events Coordinator cglauser@askccf.org ext. 129 Claire Baugh Marketing Content Coordinator cbaugh@askccf.org ext. 124 Administration Lauren Estes Office Manager lestes@askccf.org ext. 101 Bailey Harlow Advocacy Coordinator bharlow@askccf.org ext. 127 Amy L. Williams HR Manager awilliams@askccf.org ext. 112 ASK Board of Directors Robert Westermann President Hirschler Fleischer Meg Garner Vice President VPM Media Corp. Gina Honeycutt Secretary & Parliamentarian 12 On Your Side/Gray Media John Pfisterer Treasurer SuperNet, Inc. Leslie Armstrong VCU Medical Center Scott Armstrong Old Dominion Insulation Past President Marc Cheatham Office of U.S. Senator Tim Kaine Makisa George Berkshire Hathaway Leslie Griles LGImpressions, Inc. Kim Keno Capital One Steve McCoy Patient First Past President Kesha Oates Anthem Tim Parent Mungo Homes Connis Tennessee Community Volunteer John Waters Biringer Builders Melissa White Northwestern Mutual Join the Team As we aim to grow our impact, we also need to grow our team. Click below to learn about our open positions! Learn More

Make a difference through nonprofit careers with ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation. Join the team and work with purpose to make life better for childhood cancer families in Virginia. Enjoy competitive insurance coverage, PTO and IRA benefits. AT ASK CAREERS Looking to join the ASK team? See if we're hiring > Work seems less like "work" when you’re helping to make life easier for kids with cancer and serious blood disorders. ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation is an Equal Opportunity employer. ASK believes attracting and retaining diverse staff is crucial to serving our community and fulfilling our mission. ASK offers a competitive salary, a pleasant, energetic work environment, and an engaging, purposeful workplace culture. We invite you to learn more about our benefits and open positions! Insurance Coverage Health, dental and vision coverage, short & long-term disability and life insurance* Simple IRA & Match Simple IRA Plan with 100% match (up to 3% of salary) PTO & Holidays Ample paid time off, holidays and summer Fridays Team Building Monthly birthday celebrations and regular get-togethers *Only available for full-time staff at this time. Open Positions We're Hiring! Take a look below to learn more about our open positions and how to apply. Program and Impact Coordinator Marketing Content Manager Program and Impact Coordinator The Program and Impact Coordinator will support programs in the following Virginia communities: Central Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Charlottesville, Hampton Roads, and Northern Virginia. ASK’s programs provide emotional, social, educational, and financial support to children and families during and after pediatric cancer treatment. This position manages the program database, financial assistance program, data analytics, and evaluation strategies while providing administrative support to program staff. Key Responsibilities Manage and administer the Making Life Better Fund for direct financial assistance. Administer gift card assistance as needed and in coordination with the Family Support Manager. Design, update, and maintain the client database (Apricot), including staff training and ongoing evaluation, to ensure that it meets the program team's needs and goals. Input and organize various data types into the database from physical and digital sources, ensuring accuracy and data integrity. Lead, design, and administer annual program evaluation strategy to determine impact and areas of improvement. Gather, organize, and analyze data to answer questions and identify key trends for strategic decisions. Generate reports to the program, development, and leadership team related to client and program metrics. Provide quantitative and qualitative data for grant reports. Provide support as needed for social, community, and education programs, including but not limited to registration, bill payment, promotion, communication, and administrative follow- up. Support program staff and marketing with monthly and quarterly newsletters and print materials (flyers, postcards, etc) as needed. Attend and support program team events/socials as needed. Education, Experience & Skills Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience; at least five years prior administrative experience preferred. Database, evaluation, and data analytics experience required. Experience in the cancer treatment process is highly favored but not necessary. Must be self-disciplined and motivated to work in a challenging environment. Organized and able to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously. Ability to collaborate with staff and clients of diverse backgrounds and needs. Ability to build relationships across a diverse population. Ability to work independently while functioning within a team. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. This is a full-time, in-person position. The salary range starts at $50,000. Occasional evening and weekend work is required. The position reports to the Family Support Manager. ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation is an Equal Opportunity employer. It believes attracting and retaining diverse staff is crucial to serving our community and fulfilling our mission. ASK offers a competitive salary, health benefits, a simple IRA with match, holidays, and PTO, a pleasant, energetic work environment, and an engaging, purposeful workplace culture. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@askccf.org , with the subject line “Program Impact Coordinator". About ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation: Founded in 1975, ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation (askccf.org ) is Virginia’s most comprehensive provider of support services for children with cancer and serious blood disorders as well as their families. Our mission is to make their life better by providing emotional, social, financial, and educational support. Apply Marketing Content Manager ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation is seeking a full-time Marketing Content Manager to support our marketing and communications efforts. This person will work closely with the Associate Director of Marketing to support the production of ASK’s external and internal-facing communications, both digital and print. Some of the most crucial tasks for this person are to enhance philanthropic support, event marketing, and family participant connection by communicating ASK’s mission and impact through the website, blog, digital, and print materials to a variety of stakeholder groups. The Marketing Content Manager reports to the Associate Director of Marketing and will partner with the Marketing Content Coordinator. Additionally, they will work closely with the Director of Philanthropy and ASK staff to ensure all development-related and mission-derived content marketing needs are being met in service to fundraising and advancement goals, and to the organization’s vision and strategic objectives. Key Responsibilities The Marketing Content Manager's responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following activities in five core areas (with estimates of time devoted to each). Website Management and User Experience: (20%) Create, update, and coordinate website content and design, ensuring that information is accurate, up-to-date, and informative. Implement and oversee UX/UI design and development to enhance the user experience and ensure a visually appealing and user-friendly website. Collect and share compelling stories that illustrate and highlight the impact of ASK. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): (15%) Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant and high-impact keywords related to ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation's mission, events, and services. Optimize website content, including headlines, meta descriptions, and on-page content, to improve organic search visibility and click-through rates. Ensure technical SEO best practices are properly implemented, such as optimizing site speed, mobile responsiveness, and schema markup. Monitor and analyze organic search rankings, organic traffic, and other relevant SEO metrics to identify opportunities for improvement. Regularly audit the website for broken links, crawl errors, and other technical issues that might affect search engine performance. Utilize tools like Google Search Console, Moz, SEMrush, or other relevant SEO tools to track progress and identify areas of improvement. Regularly report to the Associate Director of Marketing on SEO performance, strategy effectiveness, and recommended improvements. Metrics and Analytics: (10%) Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track and analyze website traffic, user behavior, and engagement metrics. Use data insights to make informed decisions about content, design, and user experience improvements. Monitor, and track website performance metrics such as page load times, bounce rates, and conversion rates to identify areas for improvement. Report out analytics and metrics to the Associate Director of Marketing. Additionally ensuring that a month-over-month and quarter-over-quarter analysis is run and reported out as well. Communicate progress, challenges, and opportunities with the leadership team and other departments. Content Creation for the Development Department: (40%) Work closely with other Development Department team members to understand their needs and align content marketing efforts with fundraising goals. Develop compelling and effective event flyers, postcards, email newsletters, save-the-dates, signage, posters, slide shows, and event materials including fundraising websites and pitch decks to support the Development Department's fundraising efforts. Collaborate with designers and copywriters to create engaging content that aligns with ASK's branding. Lead the creation of ASK's annual report, ensuring it effectively showcases the organization's achievements, financials, and impact. Provide support for audio, video, and multimedia production of in-person and online events. Develop, design, and execute email templates, header images, and additional creative materials needed for the organizational newsletter, and development emails. Scheduling and deploying emails for the development team and organization as needed. Administrative Duties (15%) Ensure all content adheres to brand values and style. Support development and special events, including public speaking appearances, working at fundraising events, or attending events to represent ASK in the community. Education, Experience & Skills: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience. 3 to 5 years of experience in the communications, marketing, public relations, advocacy, and/or fundraising field. Graphic design experience required with Adobe Creative Suite and Canva. Video experience preferred. Proven experience in content development, for digital and print communications. Website UX/UI experience. Wix CMS experience preferred. Data analytics and metric retention for SEO and website performance This is a full-time (40 hours per week), in-person position. The starting salary is $70,000. Occasional evening and weekend work is required. ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. It believes attracting and retaining diverse staff is crucial to serving our community and fulfilling our mission. ASK offers a pleasant, energetic work environment and an engaging, purposeful workplace culture. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@askccf.org by May 9, 2025, with the subject line “Marketing Content Manager.” About ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation: Founded in 1975, ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation (askccf.org ) is Virginia’s most comprehensive provider of support services for children with cancer and serious blood disorders as well as their families. Our mission is to make their life better by providing emotional, social, financial, and educational support. Apply

Explore ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation's nonprofit financials & annual reports. Transparency through our 501c3 lookup & financial statements. Donate with confidence: Platinum Guidestar Candid transparency rating and four-star Charity Navigator rating. OUR FINANCIALS FINANCIALS Your Support Truly Matters. When you get involved with ASK, you’re making life better for kids with cancer and their families across Virginia. Take a look at our latest Annual Report to meet some of ASK’s families and see the impact of your generosity in action! Read Our Annual Report Where Your Support Goes We know that a big part of earning your trust is being 100% transparent about how your gifts are used to impact our kids and families. Thank you for your generosity and ongoing commitment to supporting them! 77 cents of every dollar goes to fund ASK programs and services that directly support families of pediatric cancer patients and survivors across Virginia. FY24 REVENUE $4,264,760 FY24 EXPENSES $3,792,798 FY24 PROGRAMS $2,911,329 Reports & Documents Past Annual Reports ASK Form 990

Meet ASK Kid Isiah! Like any other 14-year-old boy, he loves playing Fortnite, Roblox, and flying planes online. However, at the age of 11, things were very different. "A social butterfly and a very happy kid," is how his mom, Yesim, describes him. "I knew something was wrong when he began complaining of headaches and generally being very emotional. Even his teachers were noticing a difference in his personality." Yesim's motherly intuition told her it could be cancer. After several visits to pediatricians, where he was diagnosed with a virus, Isiah began vomiting. This led them to the emergency room, where a doctor delivered the most terrifying words Yesim had ever heard: "Your child has cancer." Isiah was referred to VCU for more tests over a four-day period. It was a difficult diagnosis, but no one was giving up. Eventually, Isiah was diagnosed with Large B-cell Lymphoma, a type of leukemia. Isiah’s diagnosis was extremely scary and difficult for his family to process. His mom, Yesim, thought it was "the end" for her family. "I quickly realized that if I was scared, then my child would be scared, so I decided to be brave," remembers Yesim. "At first, I compared my child to other children in treatment, but I learned that every child is different. Then I realized that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I should not lose hope." For Yesim and her family, ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation provided that hope. “Katie Barber, the ASK Child Life Specialist, was the first person we met in clinic, and she was a beautiful example of how positivity and kindness can change a very scary day into a day that we could handle.”  Since that first introduction to ASK, Isiah and his family have participated in many ASK activities, with the holiday party being their favorite.  In addition, ASK’s Education Support Navigator, Jon Longenecker, has been an integral part of Isiah’s continuing education through his treatment. “We had a lot of issues with the homebound program through our school system, and Jon made sure that Isiah got the help he needed.  He continues to be involved now that Isiah is transitioning back to school, ensuring that Isiah has all the resources he requires to be a good student.  He’s truly one of the kindest humans I’ve met in my lifetime,” continues Yesim. “It amazes me every day how ASK knows what we need and then provides a solution to our needs, no matter what it is. For example, they discovered our vacuum broke and ASK bought us a new one without me asking.  As a single mom with all my family in Germany, this type of support is vital to my family’s success.”  - Yesim ASK Kid Isiah's Mom Paying the family’s rent and providing food and gas gift cards for their many trips to VCU are just a few of the financial gifts Isiah and his family received from ASK. After 2 ½ years of chemotherapy, including 14 months of very harsh treatments, Isiah graduated to the maintenance phase and is slowly getting stronger each day. “Our life is returning to normal, I think,” laughs Yesim. “Isiah is doing well and happy again.  He’s doing better in school and is focusing on his health. We are so grateful for every day! To this day, Isiah “never complains about what has happened to him and we continue to have fun days,” says Yesim. “Cancer can’t stop us from going to the pool and the beach or visiting with friends.  Part of the nightmare of cancer is seeing all of those sick kids in Clinic and hearing about relapses. Nobody can tell us the future, but ASK walks this journey with us every day and mitigates our fear. ASK is hope in the midst of childhood cancer!”

Up until the day of his  B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL)  diagnosis, Declan was your typical preschooler,  hungry for activities. He was in swim lessons, ninja classes, and ran around the playground like it was his job.  He would do anything to keep his body moving. That is, until the day he couldn’t: he was suddenly too tired to run around at recess, and that’s when Declan’s mom, Elizabeth, sensed something was really wrong with her son.    ASK Mom Elizabeth remembers the early signs of her son's diagnosis, but didn’t think too much of them at the time. "He had broken his leg in May and then had a tonsillectomy in August, so some of the signs that we were actually noticing, we excused away, because when he was like, 'oh, my legs hurt,' we [thought] maybe he's just, you know, growing and getting adjusted to being out of a cast. And when he was looking tired, we [thought], 'Okay, well, it takes a while to get used to, you know, life and sleep after tonsillectomy. Maybe that's it…' But the one that really set us over the edge [was when Declan] came home from preschool on a Wednesday and said, 'Mama, I was just too tired to run at school. So I just sat and chatted with my teacher instead.' We were like, 'Oh, that's not our child.” Life changed quickly for Declan and his family the moment they received his lab results. Elizabeth recalls the life-changing news, "It wasn't gradual, but it was definitely instantaneous like, 'Okay, that's weird that he's not running around.' Declan was four when he was [officially diagnosed with B-cell ALL]. It was just before Thanksgiving [2023]."  Still, the family reflects on the timing of the diagnosis as a miracle. "He was diagnosed that [Friday] morning by Dr. Edwards. And then, he had his bone marrow biopsy later that day. We had to wait until Sunday for his port to get placed, and then he started chemo on Monday. So, [it was] less than a week between us noticing something [was off] and the chemo actually starting, which is another miracle. A lot of other cancer moms have told me it took them weeks and multiple ER visits to get a diagnosis," explained Elizabeth. The first five or six rounds of chemotherapy were challenging. "It was really intense. Life just sort of stopped. We were carefree and easy one day, and then the next, we had a kid with cancer." Elizabeth said. She had to leave her job to care for him and his two-year-old sister full-time, while Declan's father and older brother continued with work and middle school. But without Elizabeth’s income, finances got tight. ASK was able to help them stay afloat by helping with certain monthly expenses. Without that aide, Elizabeth says they might not have been able to stay in their home. Facing housing insecurity on top of a cancer diagnosis isn’t something anyone should have to deal with. Thanks to ASK, it wasn’t something they needed to worry about. Declan also had to stop attending preschool due to his diagnosis. ASK Education Support Navigator, Amy Fender made sure to get Declan resources and activities to help him overcome any gaps from his missed time in school. Amy is one of six Navigators stationed at each of Virginia's five pediatric cancer treatment centers. These dedicated professionals bridge the gap between hospital inpatient stays and the patients' schools, helping them stay on grade level and receive the necessary accommodations to succeed. They provide training for teachers and parents on the long-term effects that chemo has on the students. This year, Declan was able to start kindergarten in August and is currently in the maintenance phase of his treatment, which includes daily chemotherapy at home and in-clinic chemotherapy every three months.  Shortly after Declan began his current stage of treatment, he and his family had to move to Indiana, leaving their friends, family, and clinic—essentially, their entire support network—behind. Despite being out of state and ten hours away from Carilion Children's Hospital, though, they were able to still use some of that critical support network, even from a distance, through the amazing educational resources Amy Fender provided them. "Declan is finally to a point where he wants to tell his classmates about his diagnosis," Elizabeth explains. "Amy emailed me presentations, snail-mailed flyers, got us a “Monkey from Monkey in My Chair,” and even sent us things we can pass out to his classmates. It's been amazing. We were able to confidently talk to his classmates about his diagnosis and they were so receptive to it." Navigating childhood cancer is not easy for any family. ASK ensures that families have financial, educational, and emotional support from the time of the child's diagnosis through adulthood. "Cancer touches every part of life, and it's hard to go through it; it's hard to survive it as a family. And without someone like ASK filling in the gaps for the things you don't even know that you don't know, it wouldn’t be possible. When you start the cancer journey, you don't know what you're going to need. You don't know where you're going to be struggling, and you're struggling everywhere. Being in a different state with different resources, we truly know the difference between having ASK and not having ASK. It is huge. ASK makes the journey so much easier, which isn’t a small thing when you’re talking about a complete upheaval in your lives like a pediatric cancer diagnosis causes." - Elizabeth ASK Kid Declan's Mom Today, Declan loves jumping on the trampoline, building with his Legos, and playing with his friends at school. Since doing physical therapy, running around and being active is getting easier for him.  "[Declan's] really into imaginative play and pretending; we recently just listened to Phantom of the Opera, and he loves pretending to be Phantom, and his little sister plays the role of Christine. They'll do a whole play for us, which has been really fun. We’re adjusting to life with a cancer diagnosis. It’s becoming our normal, just another thing we do doing our day. It’s crazy that cancer is normal for us. I never thought we’d ever think of this as routine and un-extraordinary. But we do. And ASK was a major part of getting us to this point.”

Ethan is an intelligent, funny, outgoing 15-year-old who loves acting, Korean barbecue, and his corgi named Gatsby. As he was getting ready to begin the next chapter and the giddiness of starting high school, Ethan started to notice a sharp pain in his knee, and his life changed forever.   Despite trying to keep a positive attitude, he felt this was much more serious. "For about 5 months until my diagnosis, I noticed a lot of knee and femur pain when I walked or used stairs…My parents and I dismissed it as growing pains, but it went on for months and got worse with time, and that's when we made an appointment to see the orthopedic doctor's office. They did an X-ray, and we got the news the very next morning at 9 am. None of us will forget that day. It's ingrained in us forever," Ethan recalled that day. Annie, Ethan’s mom, pulled her son out of school and tearfully explained to Ethan what the doctors had found in the X-ray. "We sat on the bench outside of my school, and in between her sobbing, she told me that I had Osteosarcoma…the first thing I asked was, 'Am I going to die?'" Ethan recalled the moment, stating, "The fear was immediate. My first question was, 'Am I going to die?'" He was just a freshman in high school when he received his diagnosis. From there, it was all a blur. Ethan and his mother abruptly left the school and began working with the doctors at Inova Schar Cancer Institute to develop a treatment plan. Ethan received his chemotherapy port as soon as school let out for the summer. The shift was jarring, a complete upheaval of his teenage life. "I had never experienced such a change, ” Ethan recalled, “from being such a happy kid focusing on school to then being on four different chemo infusions, and all the while, 12 liters of water is being pumped inside me a day. I lost all of my hair within the first two weeks of chemo and had to attend classes virtually.  Everything happened so fast. My entire life changed after that phone call." But the fight wasn’t over. After enduring the grueling chemotherapy, Ethan faced another significant challenge: surgery, and the subsequent journey to regain his mobility. "In August of that same year, I got surgery to excise my femur where the cancer was and replace it with a titanium implant that will lengthen as I grow. How cool is that?" Ethan was amazed by how advanced medical procedures had gotten. However, the marvel of modern medicine didn't erase the immense physical effort required for recovery. The titanium implant was a technological wonder, but learning to use it was a different story entirely. But learning to walk was no easy task for a growing teenager. Ethan shared that the process was “one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I had to cope with quite literally everything. It was hard to learn to walk from scratch literally, but with enough physical therapy and support from my orthopedic surgeon, I was able to take my first tall steps. First very slowly with a walker, then steadily with crutches and now, by the grace of God, I can almost run.” Throughout Ethan’s journey, ASK has provided consistent support and a strong community for him and his family. Like many families facing a pediatric cancer diagnosis, they encountered significant financial challenges. Ethan's parents prioritized his medical needs, leading to a substantial financial burden. ASK helped them navigate available resources and alleviated some of that strain. "It really pulled us through the dark clouds and gave us hope. It gave us a real sense of community and gave us hope in humanity in a world where that is sometimes hard to remember. It brought us closer together as a family unit. It made us really remember to be in the moment and that life can be fleeting. With or without cancer." - Annie ASK Kid Ethan's Mom Ethan successfully returned to school mid-sophomore year, resuming his life alongside his peers. While regular check-ups continue, he's overcome the most significant hurdles and is embracing every opportunity with gratitude. He and his family have found comfort in making lifelong friends with the doctors, nurses, and staff on the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology floor at Inova and, of course, ASK. Now off all treatment except physical therapy to further strengthen his leg, Ethan is channeling his energy into his passion for theater. When asked about what he wants people to know about childhood cancer and being a survivor, Ethan closed out with, "I think it's really important that everyone knows that there is a light to the end of the tunnel. Push and keep fighting the battle until it's over; even then, don't stop. Live life to the fullest."