She Gets the Ball Rolling

by Emily Raij

Since graduating from UCF in 2005, Dana Nichols has helped a variety of Central Florida organizations raise money and awareness. In October of last year, she took the helm at Cannonball Kids’ cancer Foundation (CKc) as the executive director of the Orlando-based nonprofit group that funds pediatric cancer research worldwide. While Dana’s professional experience in fundraising and nonprofit management connects well with the organization’s needs, her personal passion for children makes this role the perfect fit.

Before CKc, Dana was the director of development at Orlando Shakes and managed marketing and communications for the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. She previously worked with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and Kids House of Seminole, an advocacy center for victims of child abuse. This busy mom of two, who is also an accomplished writer, runs the Orlando parenting blog Momlando with her husband Reid, and you may have seen her name in J Life bylines, as well. The couple met at Rollins, where they both received their MBAs, and currently live in Altamonte Springs with their seven-year-old daughter Violet and five-year-old son Simon.

“I had heard of CKc a couple of years ago,” Dana says. “It’s a pretty new organization, and I loved it from afar. A lot of my career has been focused on how we’re serving kids in our community. For me, I’m always looking at how there are so many ways to help and make systemic change. With CKc, it’s about finding effective treatments for kids with cancer while reducing side effects and increasing quality of life. Helping kids has always been my number one, and I found a place to do that – a place that’s doing it in an innovative way.”

CKc was founded in June of 2014 by local parents Michael and Melissa Wiggins, whose son Cannon was diagnosed with Stage IV high-risk neuroblastoma at 20 months old. The Wiggins family discovered how little funding is devoted to finding cures specifically for children’s cancer, resulting in the use of adult treatments that can often be extremely rough on kids’ bodies, have negative long-term effects, or simply not work. In Cannon’s case, his parents had to sign a waiver indicating he knew treatment could affect Cannon’s hearing. Although the good news is Cannon is a happy 10-year-old today, he continues to suffer a multitude of long-term side effects because of his treatment.

“Standard treatments for kids fighting cancer were developed between 20 and 50 years ago,” Dana explains. “CKc was formed because Melissa and Michael saw what Cannon endured and said, ‘No. We’ve got to fix this problem. We’ve got to do better.’”

Well Researched

As CKc’s mission exclaims, “Research Is the Key!” The nonprofit organization funds innovative research in order to provide better, more accessible treatment and improve the quality of life for children fighting cancer. CKc awards grants each year for three types of research. One is the Clinical Trial Grant for kids with no other treatment options, creating opportunities to extend their lives and help them survive. The next type of grant, Program Grants, expands research and creates new partnerships that ultimately lead to more treatment options. Finally, Young Investigator Grants are for physician scientists who are just starting their careers in the pediatric cancer field.

“There are a lot of challenges for a young researcher getting established in the pediatric cancer space,” says Dana. “It’s underfunded, you’re rarely delivering good news to families, and you’re constantly dealing with your young patients dying. These doctors are as frustrated with the standard treatments as we are. We can’t make the reality of treating pediatric cancer easier for them, but we can provide them the resources needed to fund their lab time so they can establish their research and retain the hope of finding a better way to treat these children they care so much about.”

Opportunity is exactly what CKc provides. The organization’s Gold Gala, happening May 7 in Orlando, is its largest annual fundraiser. Another large fundraiser is Sarah’s Sporting Clays Against Cancer, a yearly clay-shooting tournament in Central Florida started by Bob Szafranski in honor of his teenage daughter Sarah, who passed away from cancer 20 years ago. CKc recently awarded a Young Investigator Grant named in memory of Sarah.

Dana loves how a lot of donors, including children, also choose to host smaller parties with a purpose to raise money and honor loved ones.

“It turns something very difficult into something full of hope,” she says.

To date, CKc has awarded 28 grants totaling more than $3,000,000. That money has led to 660 new treatment options and funded trials in more than 25 states as well as Washington, D.C.; Scotland; Switzerland; and Canada. Of the clinical trials, 93 percent are the first of their kind in the U.S.

That means big results for the smallest patients. One unique aspect of CKc, says Dana, is its Scientific Advisory Board, a group of doctors who donate their time and expertise to review submitted grants to ensure only the most innovative, effective projects are funded.

“Our Scientific Advisory Board members are physician-scientists, themselves, and use their insight to review the grant applications and guide CKc staff into the best practices for supporting our grantees,” Dana explains.

The highest-scoring applications are then sent to CKc’s board of directors for review.

In the year ahead, Dana is excited to fund more projects, do more good, and get out and talk to more people about CKc – all while enjoying Legos, outdoor time, and Shabbat dinners with her family, of course.

“I want CKc to be here for a long time,” she says. “The potential for impact is so great. Once you hear about what we do, we want you to join the fight with us.”