A $400 Cancer Diagnosis Can Trigger a Financial Crisis. This Volunteer Network Pays the Bills No Insurance Covers.

A $400 cancer diagnosis can trigger a financial crisis. This volunteer network pays the bills no insurance covers.

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the medical bills are just the beginning. The real cost hits when one parent leaves their job to manage care, the car breaks down on the way to treatment, and the phone gets cut off because no insurer pays Verizon. That’s when the Frances Pope Memorial Foundation steps in.

The foundation provides direct financial aid to three or four families a month, covering rent, car repairs, utilities, and other expenses that insurance ignores. Families are typically young, career-building parents with multiple children. When a child gets sick, one parent often quits work to handle appointments, surgeries, and hospital stays. Savings vanish fast.

The foundation was founded in 1982 by Mary O’Dowd and Tony Pope after their daughter Franny died of leukemia. It started in a church basement, built on donated meals and volunteer DJs. Today, it’s run by 18 volunteers and 21 board members — many of whom are survivors or family members of those they’ve helped.

Brian and Kerrie O’Neill received support in 2021 when their 13-year-old son Jimmy was diagnosed with a rare pediatric cancer. He faced three years of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgeries. The foundation didn’t cover medical costs — it covered the rest. The human part. The rent. The phone. The sense of not being alone.

Twelve years earlier, the McCormacks got help when their son Sean relapsed with Burkitt Lymphoma. He needed a stem cell transplant from an out-of-network specialist, forcing the family to pay full cost for nine months. The foundation covered their rent and checked in regularly. After Sean recovered, his mother Monica joined the board.

The Rockaway Beach Ball — held this year on July 9 at The Rockaway Hotel — is the foundation’s biggest fundraiser. Businesses donate raffle prizes. Locals buy tickets. All proceeds go to families who, in the middle of a medical nightmare, still have to worry about the car starting in the morning.

Each family receives enough to keep the lights on, the phone connected, the car running — so they can focus on one thing: their child getting better.