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Our Mission

Why We Exist
A Foundation Built On An Unacceptable Truth
The Strong and Brave Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness and support for childhood cancer, inspired by the courageous journeys of two extraordinary children, Cole Slaiding and Briana Dolomite.

Their stories are the reason this foundation exists. But they are also a reflection of a much larger reality, one that most people never see until it touches their own family.

In the United States, cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children beyond infancy. Yet only 4% of federal cancer research funding is directed toward pediatric cancer. Worldwide, more than 400,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year. In the United States alone, that number is approximately 17,000, nearly 10,000 new cases diagnosed in 2023.

These numbers are staggering. They are also largely invisible to the general public, and that invisibility is something we are committed to changing.

The Strong and Brave Foundation exists to shine a light on childhood cancer, to stand beside the families it touches, and to push, loudly and persistently, for a future where more children survive, and no family ever has to face this alone.

How We Fight

Raising Awareness

The first step toward change is understanding. Most people are shocked to learn how little federal funding goes toward childhood cancer research. Most people have never heard of Diffuse Midline Glioma. Most people don’t know that a child is diagnosed with cancer every two minutes somewhere in the world.

We are committed to changing that, through events, social media, community outreach, and every conversation we can start. We share the truth about childhood cancer loudly and widely, because a cause that is unseen cannot be funded, and a family that is unknown cannot be helped.

Awareness is not passive. It is the engine that drives everything else.

Supporting Families

A childhood cancer diagnosis does not just affect a child. It reshapes every corner of a family’s life — financially, emotionally, practically, and in ways that are almost impossible to describe to someone who hasn’t lived it.

We provide direct, hands-on support to families navigating childhood cancer. That means helping them access financial assistance, connecting them with emotional resources, guiding them through an overwhelming medical system, and simply showing up, because sometimes presence is the most powerful thing we can offer.

It also means building Briana’s House, our flagship retreat center on the East End of Long Island, where families will be able to step away from hospitals, rest, and simply be together. Every dollar we raise moves us closer to opening those doors.

Whatever a family needs, we will do our best to provide it. That is our promise.

Funding Research

Better research means better treatments. Better treatments mean more children who get to grow up, go to school, fall in love, and live the full lives they deserve.

Right now, only 4% of federal cancer funding goes toward children. That number must change. The Strong and Brave Foundation is committed to directing a meaningful portion of every dollar we raise toward childhood cancer research, and to advocating, at every opportunity, for greater investment from government, institutions, and the private sector.

We believe that if more people understood the funding gap, more people would demand it be closed. So we keep talking. We keep raising. We keep pushing.

The Numbers Behind Our Mission

These are not just statistics. Each one represents a child. A family. A life changed forever.

%

Of all federal cancer research funding in the United States is directed toward childhood cancer, despite the fact that cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children beyond infancy.

New childhood cancer cases were estimated to be diagnosed in the United States in 2023 alone.

Children are diagnosed with cancer around the world every single year. Approximately 17,000 of them are in the United States.
These numbers are staggering. They are also largely unknown to the general public, and that invisibility is part of the problem. Childhood cancer is drastically underfunded, under-researched, and under-discussed.

That is why raising awareness is not just a part of our mission, it is the foundation of it. The more people know, the more they give. The more they give, the more families we can reach. The more families we reach, the closer we get to a future where no parent has to hear those words.

Join the Fight

The Strong and Brave Foundation was not built by one family. It was built by a community of people who refused to look away, who decided that if the system wasn’t doing enough, they would.

That community is open to everyone. Individuals, families, businesses, and organizations are all invited to join the mission and help create a brighter future for children fighting cancer and the families who love them.

You can give your time. You can give your dollars. You can give your voice. Every contribution, in every form, matters more than you know.

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