Hackensack Meridian Health’s Tackle Kids Cancer Celebrates 10 Years of Support in the Fight Against Pediatric Cancer

Today, Hackensack Meridian Health will celebrate the tenth anniversary of its pediatric cancer initiative, Tackle Kids Cancer, which has raised more than $26 million since its inception to support patients and their families throughout New Jersey and beyond.

The program raises funds in support of research, treatment options and patient care programs for the organization’s two children’s hospitals: Hackensack Meridian Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, located at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ, and Hackensack Meridian K. Hovananian Children’s Hospital, located at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, in Neptune, NJ.

Eli Manning, former New York Football Giants quarterback and two-time Superbowl champion, has served as #TeamTKC Captain since the program’s launch. Through a partnership with the New York Giants and a shared tradition deeply rooted in helping the community, Manning became ambassador of TKC and has been instrumental in raising the funds that sustain the program’s ability to support pediatric cancer research, clinical trials, patient care and unique survivorship programs.

“We recognized early on as a network that more needed to be done to fight cancer, especially when it comes to children’s cancers,” said Robert Garrett, the CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “Only a small percentage of the national cancer research budget is dedicated to pediatric cancer, and so back in 2015, we partnered with the New York Football Giants to help raise awareness for the urgent need to find a cure. We were so fortunate that Eli was immediately drawn to this initiative and has been our greatest champion. We are so grateful to him, and everyone who has supported Tackle Kids Cancer throughout the years, and are proud of what we have achieved together.”

Inspired by many scout troops, youth sports teams and schools that raised money for TKC, Manning launched Eli’s Challenge in 2016, matching gifts every year to encourage and support individual donors and group fundraisers. Since its inception, Eli’s Challenge has raised nearly $1.5 million through community peer-to-peer fundraisers.

“Working with Tackle Kids Cancer has been incredibly rewarding,” says Manning. “Those kids inspire me every day, and it’s because of them that I’m motivated to keep pushing forward. We need to find a cure for pediatric cancer, because no child should have to go through what they do. They deserve to just be kids, and I will keep on this mission until no more children or families have to receive that terrible news. For the tenth anniversary of Tackle Kids Cancer, I hope people will join me in making a gift to this important initiative.”

Funds raised have gone to support a variety of initiatives, including research conducted by Derek Hanson, M.D., director of pediatric neuro-oncology at the Children’s Cancer Institute at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. Dr. Hanson’s lab, located at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery & Innovation (CDI), focuses on Embryonal Tumor with Multilayered Rosettes (ETMR), a serious brain tumor primarily affecting children under 4-years-old. Early results from his work, in partnership with Claire Carter, Ph.D., have been promising, showing longer survival in small cohorts and setting the stage for deeper research into why some therapies work better than others. Their trials have now crossed international waters and Dr. Hanson is regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on this devastating form of cancer.

Likewise, the research being conducted at the Zakrzewski Laboratory at the CDI is investigating new immunotherapy treatments for pediatric cancer and is funded through philanthropy, the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. One barrier to progress in cancer immunotherapy has been the lack of unique markers that distinguish tumor cells from normal cells. Johannes Zakrzewski, M.D., and Ashley Varkey, D.O., identified novel sugar and lipid signatures present only on tumor cells, and they are using these as targets to develop new immunotherapies to treat children with aggressive blood cancers.

“The work being done by our physicians in the field of pediatric oncology is world-class, with families from all over the region - and even across the country and world - flocking to our facilities to get their children the best care,” said Alfred Gillio, M.D., director of the Children’s Cancer Institute at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and Jessica Scerbo, M.D., section chief, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital, in a joint statement. “We are able to offer a variety of clinical trials, conduct ground-breaking research, create new programs, bolster existing initiatives and offer support to entire families, and so much of that has been made possible thanks to the generosity of donors. We are so grateful for the support we have received over the last 10 years, and are hopeful that this year will be our most successful year ever.”

Funding from the program, under the auspices of the Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation has also been used to start an Adolescent and Young Adult program for teenagers and those in their young 20s who are fighting cancer; fertility preservation programs; and even breakthroughs in sickle cell disease, including curing the first patients in New Jersey, to name just a few important initiatives that have been made possible thanks to donor support.

In addition to individual donors and community fundraisers, TKC has been fortunate to receive support from a variety of private foundations, often named in honor or memory of children who were lost to the disease. Organizations like The Valerie Fund, Josephine’s Garden Inc., the Jillian Fund, the Joy in Childhood Foundation, the Dorothy B. Hersh Foundation, Mya Lin Terry Foundation, Megan Schulman Memorial Foundation and the Sohn Conference Foundation, have made a tremendous difference, as have corporations. Partners like PepsiCo, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., PGA Tour, Inc., Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, Town Title Agency, Lord Abbett, Fighting Children's Cancer Foundation, New York Red Bulls, New York Football Giants, Inc., Inserra Supermarkets, Inc. and Hyundai Hope on Wheels have all helped raise funds toward vital research and treatment initiatives.

“Tackle Kids Cancer is such an important initiative and has brought so much hope and healing to many families,” says Joyce P. Hendricks, president and chief development officer for Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation. “We are so grateful to everyone who has partnered with us over the last 10 years to make an impact on this dreadful disease. We hope that in 10 more years, we can be celebrating a cure, but until that time, philanthropy is needed more than ever. Our intention is to use the 10 year anniversary to increase awareness and support for Tackle Kids Cancer so that we can change the lives of even more children and give others a future free from cancer.”

To make a gift in support of Tackle Kids Cancer, visit tacklekidscancer.org. To create a peer-to-peer fundraiser, visit GiveHMH.org/ElisChallenge. To hear more about funding opportunities at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, email Natalie Tessoun at natalie.tessoun@hmhn.org, or Ellen Hahn at ellen.hahn@hmhn.org for funding opportunities at K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital.