Providing Support

News & Updates

September 2026 | Volume 17 - Number 7

The Lived Experience

On August 24, Mattie Miracle's Co-Founder, was interviewed by Cheryl Krauter, the Director of Communications for the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS). Mattie Miracle is honored to be given a Member Spotlight to share personal reflections on our mission. Our psychosocial work will always be guided by Mattie's cancer journey as he taught us that childhood cancer is NOT just about the medicine.

Mattie Miracle considers APOS our professional home. We have a 13 year history with the organization. Our journey with APOS began in 2012, when we had the opportunity to work with Dr. Lori Wiener during our historic Psychosocial Symposium for Childhood Cancer on Capitol Hill. In attendance at that Symposium was APOS' founder and champion of psychosocial care, Dr. Jimmie Holland. At the Symposium, Mattie Miracle shared its vision to develop a Psychosocial Standard of Care. Medical treatment is standardized throughout the country, but psychological and emotional support for children with cancer and their families varies greatly by treatment center. We were on a mission to change that, so all children with cancer and their families have access to optimal psychosocial support from the time of diagnosis, into survivorship, or end of life and bereavement care.

In order to transform our vision into a reality, Mattie Miracle joined forces with top psychosocial leaders in the field (Dr. Lori Wiener, Dr. Anne Kazak, Dr. Bob Noll, and Dr. Andrea Patenaude) and decided to host a Standards Development Think Tank at the APOS 2013 conference in Huntington Beach, CA. This Think Tank generated incredible energy and assembled a cross-disciplinary health care team of over 80 professionals. For three years this team combed peer-reviewed articles, formed five working groups, had monthly conference calls, and numerous meetings to review, revise, and grade the proposed Standards. The Standards were published in Pediatric Blood & Cancer and are considered one of the most downloaded articles over time.

Mattie Brown's life inspired the Psychosocial Standards of Care. They are his legacy and we are grateful that APOS' Spotlight captured our lived experience.

Click on the image below to see the 19 minute

APOS Spotlight Video.

Spreading Hope Through Psychosocial Support _sm

Call for Grant Proposals

Mattie Miracle is honored to be a community partner with the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS). We have a long standing relationship with this professional association, as we hosted think tanks at their annual conferences in order to develop the historic evidence-based Psychosocial Standards of Care, published in Pediatric Blood & Cancer. The Standards are designed to ensure that all children with cancer and their families have access to optimal psychosocial support.

Mattie Miracle is committed to the implementation of the Psychosocial Standards of Care and funding Early Career Grants, to support innovative implementation research. To date, we have funded over $100,000 of research grants through APOS.

Call for Grant Proposals is OPEN and

the deadline to submit is October 5th.

Making Wishes

Come True

In January of 2026, Mattie Miracle received an email from Zachary Magnuson. Zachary was a very close friend of Mattie Brown's and he and his family are long-time supporters of the Foundation.

Zachary was enrolled in a fundraising course for his non-profit minor. One of the course requirements was to shadow a non-profit leader to learn more about 501c3 responsibilities and fundraising strategies. Zachary elected to shadow Mattie Miracle's co-founder and together they collaborated on a project that highlights the M&M Wishes program and some its amazing recipients.

Facts about M&M Wishes

Since 2022, we have funded $84,446 of Wishes to children with cancer.
Granted Wishes to children in 25 states in the USA.
Awarded 70 M&M Wishes.
Wishes granted to children, teens, and young adults with a childhood cancer diagnosis.
Our Wishes program is unique because we grant M&M Wishes to children during treatment, survivorship, or end of life.

We are grateful for Zachary's work with Mattie Miracle and we invite you to read the beautiful document he created which features 16 of our M&M Wish recipients.

We Love Child Life

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to honor the resilience of children with cancer and the families who support them. We know that childhood cancer is NOT just about the medicine and since 2011, we have supported the work of child life specialists.

Child life specialists play a critical role in supporting child health and wellness, through preparation, education, distraction, play, and coping tools. In the process they minimize stress, anxiety, and psychosocial trauma.

In 2019, we created a child life program fund at Children's Hospital at Sinai (Baltimore, MD). To date, we have donated over $300,000 to this fund. Erin Moynihan is our child life specialist and in the last three months (April to June 2026), she has supported 223 children through various procedures such as IV placement, blood draws, port access, and scans. Thanks to Erin's interventions and support, she has helped 99% of her patients successfully cope with and manage these procedures.

Candy & Snack Drive

It is candy and snack season! Please help us stock our free Snack and Item Carts. Our five Carts are considered a life saver by families who are caring for a child with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. Hospitals have requested that candy remain in its original unopened vacuum sealed bags, with its manufacturer's expiration date. Therefore, the safest way to meet these requirements is to use an Amazon Wish List.

You can participate in our 16th annual Candy and Snack Drive from anywhere in the USA. Please view our Amazon Wish List, and we request all items be received by November 9, 2026.

Facts about Our Carts:

Operating 5 Snack & Item Carts at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (Washington, DC), Children's Hospital at Sinai (Baltimore, MD), and The NIH Clinical Center (Bethesda, MD).
Serving 2,500 families a year.
Supporting over 600 families every three months.
Offering free candy, nutritional snacks, drinks, toiletries, and wellness items to families caring for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

﻿Call for Grant Proposals

Making Wishes

Come True

We Love Child Life

Candy & Snack Drive

Call for Grant Proposals