Moms & Dads Retreats

At Balding for Dollars, our mandate is to provide quality of life programs to patients AND their families while undergoing treatment at BC Children’s Hospital and beyond. Part of that is recognizing that the entire family is affected when a child is diagnosed with cancer or a blood disorder. Siblings, parents, and grandparents often feel extreme emotions, pressure, and anxiety while the whole family navigates this difficult time. We always want to include those important support systems for the children when we think about adding to our programs reach.

In 2018, we expanded our patient and family programming to include a special retreat for the female caregivers (Moms, Guardians, Aunts, Grandma’s welcome) as a way to treat those ladies to a little pampering; to show them they are loved, supported, and give them an opportunity for self-care so they can be the best versions of themselves for the rest of their family. Each year we’ve sent around 10 women up to beautiful Merritt, BC for a few days of relaxation, community, and rest.

Of course we couldn’t leave out the wonderful men in these kids’ lives! In 2019, we launched some special ‘dad’s days’ (Guardians, Uncles, Grandpa’s welcome) including a fishing day, and a woodworking experience; complete with lunch and time to chat. Sometimes it can be hard for Men to share and connect with others, but we know that even just being a room with others that “get it”, doing a physical activity, and taking your mind off of your daily stressors for a few hours, can be very healing.

We partner with Power to Be on some of these events to create memorable and well-deserved experiences for these caregivers. We’ve received amazing feedback from these annual & semi-annual events and we’ve seen the value first hand for these families.

Want to get involved or be a part of one of our next events? Email us for more information!

Upcoming retreats:

Dad’s Day Out – June 15, 2024

Mom’s Retreat – October 4-6, 2024

A message from our Parent Patient Advocate

 It has been my privilege to be involved with Balding for Dollars in the capacity of a parent, volunteer, past administrator, and now as the Patient/Parent Advocate for Oncology/Hematology here at BC Children’s Hospital. I work side by side with the psychosocial team at BC Children’s and other regional hospitals to help support families with fun and informative programming such as Moms and Dads retreats to improve the quality of life for our patients and their families. I am grateful to our volunteers and our very generous donors who have supported Balding for Dollars in the past and in the future years to come.  – Suzanne Dunbar