ADVOCATE PROFILE: NANCY STEWART
Throughout our 25th anniversary year, we’re featuring champions who’ve been nominated by the childhood cancer community for their outstanding contributions toward our mission of improving the lives of children with cancer and survivors.
Nancy Stewart is a Children’s Cancer Cause board member and has been a dedicated volunteer and advocate since shortly after our founding in 1999. When her granddaughter Sylvie passed away from a highly malignant brain tumor, she and her late husband John got involved with Children's Cancer Cause to help other families.
In 2019, Nancy and John’s support enabled Children’s Cancer Cause to launch the Stewart Initiative for Childhood Cancer, a series of dedicated resources aimed at empowering the nation’s 500,000 childhood cancer survivors to be strong self-advocates for their long-term care. Today, our Stewart Initiative site offers mobile-friendly educational courses for young adult survivors of childhood cancer.
“John and I resolved that the best way to honor the memory of our beloved Sylvie was to help other kids and their families engaged in the same battle,” Nancy once told us. “Our purpose in sponsoring the Stewart Family Survivorship Initiative is to develop more effective ways to disseminate life-saving information.”
Toward that goal, the Stewart Initiative made possible our Survivorship Champion’s Prize, which has now awarded $85,000 in funds to a total of thirteen prestigious survivorship programs across the country, enabling these institutions to address disparities in access to care, enhance and expand healthcare transition programs, improve technology, and purchase tablets and books for clinic patients.
Through July 31, 2024, Children’s Cancer Cause is accepting applications for the 2024 Survivorship Champion’s Prize.
The Stewart family’s support has also been instrumental in our College Scholars Program, which has now provided college scholarships to nearly 50 childhood cancer survivors who commit to undertaking cancer volunteer projects in their communities or on campus. In John and Nancy’s honor, our top scholarship every year is named our Stewart Scholar and is presented to a survivor who demonstrates exceptional potential to make a positive difference in the world.
Meet our Stewart Scholars:
Francesca, Dahlia, and Devan
Nancy has experience as a legislative staffer on Capitol Hill and also as an educator. She is very active in her Knoxville community, serving as a board member, church leader, hospital volunteer, and political activist. She has also served as the President of the League of Women Voters at the county and state levels.
“Through her tireless advocacy and philanthropy, Nancy has helped to elevate and shine light on the lifelong health needs of our nation’s childhood cancer survivors,” said Steve Wosahla, CEO of Children’s Cancer Cause. “Championing excellence in survivorship care and fostering the Stewart Scholars’ visions directly speaks to her lifelong commitment to transformational change. We invite others to join us in building upon the important work set in motion by the Stewart Initiative.”