The Dragonfly Foundation

You may have seen their name listed as a sponsor for a local event or 5K race, but do you really know what they do? The Dragonfly Foundation is an extraordinary charity doing remarkable work for sick children and their families right here in Cincinnati. Let’s find out more:

Origin of the Dragonfly Foundation

The charity’s founder, Christine Neitzke, was motivated to help children and families dealing with a cancer diagnosis when her own son was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 10.

Noticing that there was a tremendous lack of support for pediatric cancer patients, Christine joined forces with her friend, Ria Davidson, and thus the Dragonfly Foundation began.

What the Dragonfly Foundation Does

The Dragonfly Foundation aims to support pediatric cancer patients and their families in four main areas:

Thoughtful Gifts for Patients

They provide distraction gifts for both outpatients and inpatients dealing with a cancer diagnosis. They also offer new diagnosis gifts and hospital in-room meal cards.

Additionally, they provide extended stay care packages to make dealing with a prolonged hospital stay a bit easier, and even hair loss care packages to ease the devastation of a child losing hair due to chemotherapy.

Social Events and Entertainment

They provide forms of entertainment for children and families dealing with a cancer diagnosis in the Cincinnati area. This includes tickets to local events, Kings Island tickets, spa days, and even celebrity meet-and-greet events.

By making these kids and families feel special and giving them a fun day out, they help to alleviate some of the stress they are under as a result of their diagnosis.

Emotional Health and Support

Dragonfly operates a “clubhouse” for patients and families known as The Landing. This provides a common meeting spot for families and patients to mingle with one another and share stories and support.

They also have a Dragonfly Suite at the US Bank Arena to allow all dragonflies the opportunity to attend any event or concert held at the arena. The Foundation has also donated dozens of laptops and iPads to hospitals to make the children’s stay there a whole lot easier and more connected to the outside world.

Community Connections and Support

Working with other community organizations and charities, the Dragonfly Foundation strives to help out wherever possible. This includes setting up private social media pages to support families.

Serving Patients and Families

TDF currently serves pediatric cancer patients (and their families) between the ages of birth to 30. These patients are being treated at:

• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
• Dayton Children’s Hospital
• Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago
• Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago

Patients can register as dragonflies from the date of diagnosis until they are at least five years post-treatment. At the time of a cancer diagnosis, eligible patients will receive a registration form from a social worker.

How You Can Help

There are many ways you can help The Dragonfly Foundation to continue to serve the pediatric cancer patients in our area. This is a truly wonderful organization dedicated to helping sick children.

The Dragonfly Foundation is faithfully devoted to the sickest children in our area.

By supporting this organization, you are helping those children and families facing the most difficult times of their lives. With a little support and help from you, The Dragonfly Foundation can continue their work and make even the darkest days a little bit brighter for children that need it most!