Stop & Shop has kicked off its annual Help Cure Childhood Cancer campaign to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund in Massachusetts, and MSK Kids, the pediatrics program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Since the campaign’s inception decades ago, the Quincy, Massachusetts-based retailer and its customers have contributed more than $100 million to these two hospitals.
Those funds have allowed them to make significant advancements in pediatric cancer research and care. 
Stop & Shop’s Help Cure Childhood Cancer campaign is running in-stores and on Stop & Shop’s website through March 31. In-store shoppers can donate at checkout, while those shopping online for pickup or delivery have the option of giving $1, $3, $5, $10 or $20 when completing their order. All of the proceeds will benefit the two hospitals.
In New York, New Jersey, as well as Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut, proceeds will support MSK Kids. Stores north of New Haven in Connecticut, plus all Massachusetts and Rhode Island stores will raise funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
“Our customers and associates’ generosity and participation in the Help Cure Childhood Cancer campaign is unmatched year after year,” said Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid. “We are proud of our long-standing partnership with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and praise their continued commitment to make a difference in the lives of children affected by cancer.”
One of the most recognizable aspects of the campaign is the in-store signage that highlights patient ambassadors – local children aged 3-15 who are being or have been treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and have benefited from donations from companies like Stop & Shop.
MSK Kids is dedicated to all children, young adults and families facing childhood cancer. With specialized expertise and care focused on the individual child, more families turn to MSK Kids for cancer care than any other hospital in the U.S. And as pioneers in research, MSK’s physicians and scientists are working to develop and deliver more effective strategies to prevent, treat and cure childhood cancer.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Stop & Shop’s partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering. In celebration, Stop & Shop will donate 20 tons of food to MSK’s FOOD (Food to Overcome Outcomes Disparities) Program, which aims to alleviate food insecurity and increase awareness of how hunger impacts a patient’s ability to fight cancer. Since opening its first food pantry specifically for cancer patients in 2011, the FOOD program has distributed more than 300,000 meals to 4,000 patients and their families.
The program now operates 13 pantries located in cancer clinics serving patients in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and on Long Island.
“We are continually grateful for the generous support from Stop & Shop whose philanthropic efforts have helped fuel and accelerate research at MSK Kids for the past 20 years. Their support is extraordinarily important as it provides funding that allows us to pursue innovative and groundbreaking research in childhood cancers,” said Andrew Kung, MD, PhD and chair of the department of pediatrics. “We are making great progress in understanding and ultimately treating childhood cancers, and the support from Stop & Shop and their customers will continue to help us create more effective and less toxic treatments for our patients.”
Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center is an integrated pediatric hematology and oncology program through Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital, providing – in one specialized program – world-class pediatric cancer and blood disease care. Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s offers an unrivaled breadth of treatment options for children and young adults with cancer and blood disorders, from standard protocols and advanced therapies to clinical trials.
“Stop & Shop’s generous philanthropic support over the past two decades has driven the development of one of the largest clinical and research efforts focused on the care of children with difficult to treat brain tumors,” said Dr. Scott Armstrong, president of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and chairman of the department of pediatric oncology at Dana-Farber. “It has also prompted the initiation of new programs that support the discovery of cutting-edge new drugs and research focused on understanding how health disparities influence pediatric cancer outcomes. This work would not be possible without the unwavering support from Stop & Shop.”
For more information about Stop & Shop’s Help Cure Childhood Cancer campaign, visit stopandshop.com/pages/help-cure-childhood-cancer.
