Community Partners

Our friends in the community share our passion for children’s health. For information about helping children through your organization’s gift, contact Marie Vacca at (302) 651-4416, or at mvacca@nemours.org.

The Open Net Foundation—Putting a Check on Childhood Diseases

Attention hockey fans (and anyone else who wants to have a little fun)! The Open Net Foundation, a very generous friend to Nemours, is holding their 11^th Annual Open Net Ice Hockey Tournament on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at the University of Delaware Ice Arena complex.

There will be an eight-team adult hockey tournament, youth cross-ice tournament, family fun day activities and a silent auction featuring a wide range of gifts, household items, and sports memorabilia. This all-day event concludes with the championship game for the Open Net Trophy.

Since 2006, the Foundation has contributed a total of $30,000 to the Nemours Fund for Children’s Health to fund research in juvenile arthritis at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. For more information about the tournament and the Foundation, please visit the Open Net Foundation.

Thoughtful gift from partners provides “ducky” new friends for young patients.

The Caitlin Robb Foundation and the Kelly Heinz-Grundner Brain Tumor Foundation recently teamed up to bring 200 new friends to young cancer patients at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. Chemo Ducks are fuzzy yellow toys with a big difference. The ducks wear scrubs, surgical hats and have a “port” in their chests.

Doctors, nurses, psychologists, Child Life specialists and parents use Chemo Duck in “medical play” to help children understand procedures, tests, examinations and treatments. They find that these innovative, plush play therapy toys reduce anxiety in children and make them more comfortable with all that is happening to them. Chemo Ducks also give children a soft, huggable buddy to accompany them to the hospital for treatment and then home for cuddling. Many thanks to these two wonderful organizations for helping kids cope with cancer.