The Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation is an Institution of a Public Character (IPC) and it was registered as a non-profit charity in 2003. Its sole mission is to fight blood
cancers and provide financial assistance to patients referred from restructured
hospitals by paying either fully or in part, all costs related to treatment of leukemia, lymphoma and similar blood-related disorders, which includes the high costs of transplants and procurements. On an average, treatment of haematological cancer might last for eight months but can continue for years, and an individual’s treatment costs can easily exceed $100, 000.
One of the Foundation’s primary objectives is to support the well-being of the people who are facing the impact of a blood cancer diagnosis at any stage of the disease.
Due to their illnesses and side-effects of the treatment, the family members / caregivers of some of our beneficiaries do not feel at ease about allowing the beneficiaries to go out on their own. However, due to their financial situation, they spend most of their time working or they do not have the extra cash to go for family outings as most of them have to lead a frugal life.
We hope to organise outings and activities which can be free of charge, or at least heavily subsidised, for our beneficiaries on a regular basis in the hope to enable them to lead an active and fulfilled life. We hope that these outings and activities will not only enhance bonding of the beneficiaries with their loved ones, but also provide a source of motivation and/or escape from their daily stresses in order for them to have the energy to continue on their fight against the disease.
For activities and/or workshops (past, current and/or future), e.g. Vegetables Growing Workshop, Teddy Bear Making Workshop, Music Therapy, Art & Craft sessions etc., we aim to engage our beneficiaries and/or their caregivers in the ones they are interested in while equipping them with practical and/or emotional skills which they can apply in their daily lives or cultivate an interest which will occupy their time meaningfully during their recovery period.
For outings, which can be our quarterly small-scale outing (bowling, farm visits etc.) or our annual large-scale outing (e.g. Singapore Flyer, Universal Studios Singapore), we strive to choose places which will cater to the wide age group of our beneficiaries and as much as possible, we hope to bring our beneficiaries and their family members to places which they are interested but do not have the time or means to go due to various reasons like monetary costs, physical restrictions as a result of medical condition etc.
Being a non-profit organisation without government assistance, we rely solely on sponsorships or donations. Though we do have a regular base of donors and sponsors, the funds raised are mainly used to provide financial assistance for the beneficiaries’ high treatment costs. In 2010, the Foundation has given direct financial assistance of $950 000 to patients and the total charitable expenses was 80% of the total expenses. Therefore, we are continuously seeking the public’s help in financing our activities and outings through sponsorship, donation and/or fundraising drive.
