Student-led nonprofit aids childhood cancer patients

TROY — A local nonprofit is taking the fight to childhood cancer through awareness, fundraisers and making deliveries of toys and games.

The organization is called Aid2Day and was founded by Heera Santhosh, a junior at International Academy East in Troy.

“Aid2Day is an international nonprofit student-run organization that I and a friend from high school founded in high school,” Santhosh explained. “We support pediatric cancer patients. In addition to fundraising, we hold awareness campaigns. We have 115 members, which are all high school students from across the globe.”

Aid2Day supports pediatric cancer patients via microgrant fundraisers, raising more than $50,000 in the last three years, as well as hosting awareness campaigns and collecting items as gifts for patients.

“This last summer, we created gift baskets for a cancer patient and started hosting mental health programs highlighting how important it can be during ongoing cancer treatment,” said Santhosh. “We also started talking a bit in a webinar about the importance of vaccines. This was in addition to our ongoing fundraisers and other programs, (such as) gift drives for children in oncology units and food drives for communities.”

Among its most significant programs are toy drives for children undergoing treatments for cancer. Sinead Nimmo, a child life project specialist for Children’s Hospital of Michigan, said the group recently made a donation that has made a huge difference in the lives of their patients.

“They are making an in-kind donation of toys and other items,” said Nimmo. “Our job at the hospital is to help them with their coping so they understand what is going on, what their diagnosis is, and how to handle some tough diagnoses. They will often encounter a lot of hard times so giving them some toys or their favorite Barbie, it makes things feel a little more normal and safe. Young kids aren’t always able to express everything they are thinking, so giving them the chance to express it through play is important.”

“Through our gift drive, Aid2Day aims to provide a glimmer of joy, hope and encouragement to these young warriors,” Santhosh said. “They understand that a simple present, thoughtfully chosen and given with love, has the power to uplift spirits, foster positivity, and remind these children that they are not alone in their fight. The gifts act as tangible symbols of support, reinforcing the notion that there is an entire community rallying behind them.”

Santhosh said that she wanted to focus on pediatric cancer because a relatively small amount of funding goes into its research.

“We wanted to support pediatric cancer patients because it is not only a devastating disease, but when we did some research, only 4% of funds from the National Cancer Institute is dedicated to pediatric cancer research,” she said.

“I can’t speak much to the research side of things in terms of funding, but pediatric oncology has a large amount of patients, and this requires a lot of long hospital stays,” added Nimmo. “We go through a lot of play items, so we always love to see donations so we never have a shortage.”

Santhosh started Aid2Day after losing her grandmother to cancer.

“I started this in the summer after eighth grade. My grandmother passed away from cancer the year before,” she said. “I learned a lot about the pain that comes from having a family member with cancer. I experienced so much pain watching someone older than me pass away, so I couldn’t imagine the pain of watching a child go through this. I saw that not enough was being done, so we started this as a small project, and it grew from there.”

The organization started small but quickly grew.

“We have had a combination of virtual events and in-person events since we started it during COVID,” Santhosh said. “In Michigan, our first event was in person, at a cricket championship in Farmington Hills, and we held a concession stand and sold $2,000 in concessions, which we donated to St. Jude Research Hospital. After that, we moved to a lot of virtual events during COVID. We met with patients, we have had events like a bingo fundraiser and a holiday gift drive.”

On June 23, Aid2Day partnered with ATS Automation’s Wixom branch to donate more than $1,500 to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Detroit’s oncology clinic.

“ATS Automation’s commitment to giving back to the community is evident through their partnership with Aid2Day,” Santhosh said. “Their shared goal of making a difference in the lives of those in need is palpable in this image. It reflects the power of collaboration and highlights how organizations can come together to create a greater impact than they could achieve individually.”

Nimmo believes that efforts such as those made by Aid2Day are not only important because they raise awareness and funding, but because it is often overlooked how extra difficult cancer can be to a child and that they need toys and games to be able to take their minds off what they are going through and to help them better express their emotions.

“I like to reiterate how important these efforts are,” Nimmo remarked. “Playing is the way kids learn and figure out the way they find out about the world around them. It can help them interact with peers, which helps with coping. … We are so thankful for donations like this. They are crucial to us doing our jobs.”