UKANDU

Mission

UKANDU’s mission is to bring hope, joy, and connection to families impacted by childhood cancer. We do this by creating supportive programs where the whole family can play, heal, make memories together, and build a community of support to help them navigate the challenges of childhood cancer.

 All programs are 100% free of charge.

Due to their diagnoses, children with cancer often miss out on classic childhood experiences. We aim to return some of the joy of childhood that cancer takes away and provide a space where these kids can “just be kids”. We know that cancer impacts the entire family, and we're committed to helping siblings and caregivers find respite and support, too. 

When we reach our goal of $40,000, we’ll be able to fully cover all camp activities during a transformative summer camp experience - this includes supportive programming for caregivers and all the classic summer camp activities that allow UKANDU to empower these children and offer them a rite of passage they may otherwise miss.

Bottom Line for Portland

In 2024, 600-800 families in Oregon will face a childhood cancer diagnosis. These families need support outside the hospital environment where they can heal, find community, and where their kids can just be kids. To date, UKANDU has served over 1,000 families and over 4,000 children impacted by childhood cancer, 90% of whom report an increased sense of hope and a strengthened support network. 

For 38 years, we’ve brought transformative summer camp experiences to these families, and in the last 10 years, we’ve expanded our programming to include year round support to respond to the diverse needs of each member of the family.

Quote

"Sabina, who has just wrapped up 9 months of intensive chemotherapy and surgery for Osteosarcoma, told me that Camp Ukandu was the first time she felt like she "fit in and belonged."  She said it was pure magic to meet other kids who actually know first-hand what it's like to go through what she has. And it was wonderful for them both to see kids in their various stages of cancer survival, being joyful, playful and being KIDS!" - UKANDU Parent

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We regularly seek and incorporate direct feedback from the community we serve to improve programming and make UKANDU as accessible and inclusive as possible. We aim to create a safe and nurturing space for all participants where identities are honored, and where our differences are not ignored but celebrated for the diverse perspectives that we collectively bring. 

We also recognize that while cancer may not discriminate, access to medical services has long been characterized by racist and classist practices; part of our outreach strategy includes building meaningful relationships within neglected communities to learn about their experiences and to help bridge the gap between underserved communities and supportive programming for families facing childhood cancer. 

Partner(s)

We’re so grateful to our partners who helped make our 2023 campaign a success!

A special thanks to Charter Mechanical for generously contributing a 5k matching donation and to Dixie Tavern and Chocolat-e for spreading the word about UKANDU and donating to our campaign!

We would also like to thank Bipartisan Cafe, Redwood , Personal Beast, and Coopers Hall Winery for providing incentives to our donors.