Treats & Treasures Cart
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The Treats & Treasures Cart, provided through the partnership between Kindred Foundation and The EVAN Foundation, is a program designed to bring joy and brighten the day of children and their families who are going through cancer treatment. The Cart is filled with healthy snacks, toys and candy, and is brought to children and their families in the hematology/oncology ward on a weekly basis. Kindred Foundation and The EVAN Foundation fully fund the Treats & Treasures program, at little to no cost for hospitals.
The Canadian Treats & Treasures Program is proudly supported and run by Kindred Foundation and The EVAN Foundation.
There are five Treats & Treasures Carts at Canadian hospitals:
Stollery Children's Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta), Alberta Children's Hospital (Calgary, Alberta), Jim Pattison Children's Hospital (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), BC Children's Hospital (Vancouver, BC), and CancerCare Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba).
What is the Treats & Treasures Cart?
The Treats & Treasures Cart is filled with a wide assortment of toys, healthy snacks, candy, and other fun items. It is taken around to oncology/hematology patients once a week on the same day, and at the same time. The patient and their families are offered the opportunity to decide what they would like to choose from the cart.
The Cart gives everyone something to consistently look forward to and provides a much-needed break from medical activities. Kids are often motivated to walk to the door to make their choices, but because the cart is on wheels, it can also be brought to the bedside, if permitted.
Where can you find the Treats & Treasures Carts?
The first Kindred Foundation and The EVAN Foundation Treats & Treasures Cart in Canada was launched at Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta on September 29, 2021. In July 2022, Alberta Children's Hospital (Calgary, Alberta) and Jim Pattison Children's Hospital (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) both launched their Treats & Treasures Carts. Our most recent Carts were launched in February 2023 at B.C. Children's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.) and July 2023 at CancerCare Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba). Our goal is to implement the Treats & Treasures Cart program across Canada in hospitals that provide treatment for children and adolescents with cancer.
The EVAN Foundation launched the Treats & Treasures Cart Program in the U.S. in 2012 at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. The program is found in hospitals across the US, including The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
How do I find more information about the Treats & Treasures Cart?
If you would like more information about a Treats & Treasures Cart program at your hospital, please contact us and we would love to talk to you. You can also read a summary of the program (PDF). Here are some highlights.
Kindred Foundation and The EVAN Foundation purchase the custom medical-grade Cart and provide a yearly stipend to purchase everything that is needed to keep the Cart stocked with treats, treasures, and other fun items.
The hospital decides what goes on the Cart. We can provide suggestions on what works well on the Cart to help with the ordering process.
The Cart is typically managed by Child Life and we can help with designing procedures that align with hospital policies to ensure patient, family, staff, and volunteer safety.
The Inspiration behind the Treats & Treasures Cart
Evan Lindberg was a boy who “lived every day with joy in his heart, compassion in his soul, and love and laughter as his guiding stars” (EVAN Foundation website). Evan was diagnosed with stage IV high-risk neuroblastoma in 2006. He experienced an extensive list of treatments that included 7 surgeries (4 of which were brain surgeries), 35 rounds of chemotherapy, and 25 days of immunotherapy where the major side-effect is pain. Unfortunately, available treatments at the time failed Evan and he died in 2010. Evan’s spirit lives on in many ways through his family and friends, and also through Evan’s Victory Against Neuroblastoma (EVAN) Foundation.
