December 5Th Fund

The Helping Hands Program is intended to be an extension of The December 5th Fund's Great Day Program. Though other organizations provide services similar to our Great Day program, we are the only organization in the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan area committed to providing on-going support connected to household maintenance. Our program is without restrictions based on the age or other demographics of the cancer patient. After initially providing only Great Day experiences, we learned that many of our families also have a need for on-going support and continuous care. From the onset of the illness, family caretakers are under significant strain to support their family member through the cancer treatment process while also maintaining a household and continuing employment. Sometimes the cancer patient is also a caregiver to their children as well. We want these families to have the much needed quality time together instead of worrying about the burdens of household chores. We believe The December 5th Fund accomplishes this through our continuous care support offered with the Helping Hands Support Plan. The Helping Hands Support Plan provides our families with 3 or 6 months of continuous care as they navigate the difficulties of cancer treatment. This care includes weekly meal prep services, weekly laundry services, housecleaning every 2 weeks, lawn care every 3 weeks, and childcare on an as-needed basis.