ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation

For 50 years, ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation has provided support services to families from the moment their child is diagnosed through survivorship. With programs that reach across Virginia, ASK last year helped make life a little easier for 1,178 families with a child in cancer treatment or survivorship. 

“We have a vision of a Virginia where every child with cancer and their family has the support that they need to get through treatment,” says Amy Godkin, executive director. “That means family support, educational support, and a community they can count on.” 

ASK – Assistance, Support, Kindness – began in 1975 in the waiting room of the pediatric oncology clinic at the Medical College of Virginia, now the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. “In those days, survival rates for childhood cancer were low,” Amy says. “Parents gathered to support each other and decided more needed to be done. They started raising funds and organizing support groups.” Within a couple of years, they raised enough funds to hire a chaplain for the hospital, followed by a child life therapist.  

ASK education support navigators visit a child’s classroom to conduct an age-appropriate presentation about what their classmate has been through in their cancer treatment. 

Answering questions is a big part of ASK education support navigators' role as they help children return to school after their treatment.

Amy’s commitment to ASK is personal. Her son was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2001 when he was two years old. “He was treated in Richmond and at another hospital out of state,” Amy says. “Even though it was a larger hospital, I felt the support services in Richmond were so much better because of ASK.” She started volunteering with ASK and was hired as part-time development director in 2004.

Since those days, the organization has seen significant growth and expanded services to other hospitals in Virginia – CHKD in Hampton Roads, UVA Children’s Hospital in Charlottesville, Carilion Children’s in Roanoke, and Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax. 

Advocacy is an important part of ASK’s mission. “When we first looked at the state budget, we saw there was $20 million for adult cancer and zero for children,” Amy says. “That’s when we knew we had to become the voice for kids with cancer in Virginia. If we pooled our efforts from all five oncology centers, we could be the convener of passionate advocates to go to the General Assembly and raise awareness about the needs for kids with cancer.” 

ASK identified a common need among all the centers for support to help kids with cancer go back to school. With funding from the state, ASK launched the Education Support Navigators program in 2023. Last year, 791 children across the state took part in this program.  

“The navigators are embedded in the hospital, and when the family receives the good news that their child can go back to school, the navigator meets with the doctor, parents, and child to see what the child might need,” Amy explains. “The navigator then goes to the school with the child to meet with the educational team.” If the child wants it, the navigator can conduct an age-appropriate presentation to the child’s classroom about what their classmate has been through and how they can help them. “I attended one of these sessions in Roanoke where a young patient told his story,” Amy says. “To see that child get his confidence back and see his friends rally around him and come up with ideas of how they could support that little boy was so moving to me.” 

Amy Godkin, ASK executive director, Virginia Delegate Betsy Carr, and ASK advocate Lynnie Genho (l. to r.) meet to continue efforts to raise awareness about childhood cancer. 

ASK also provides financial support for families that have a child going through treatment. “At least half of our families suffer financial hardship from treatment. We want to give them some assistance so they can focus on taking care of their child,” Amy says. Tutoring is another important service ASK offers, providing 3,500 hours of tutoring both in person and online last year. 

The ASK Family Center is a place for fun, education, and a gathering space where families can share stories. 

Amy describes how ASK first became connected with TowneBank. “We were looking for a stronger bank partner when one of our board members suggested TowneBank. Our banker, Ty Crone, responds quickly to me and we have a great relationship. I am impressed by how much Towne does in the community and how they use that platform to give a voice to the organizations they support like ours.”  

Amy’s son is doing well. He just returned from a year in Japan and is studying to be a pharmacy tech.  

For more information, visit ASKCCF.org.