Hope for Autumn Foundation’s mission is to provide new hope and assistance for families battling childhood cancer, to support innovative research in childhood cancer therapies, and to increase community awareness of childhood cancer and cutting-edge treatment options. HFAF began as a small backyard crawfish boil held to raise money for a family whose daughter, Autumn, was battling leukemia. The crawfish boil grew over the years in size and revenue, and in 2012, Hope for Autumn Foundation was founded as a 501(c)3 public charity. Previously, the foundation was able to assist one to three families per year, once a year, with the crawfish boil revenue. Currently, HFAF accepts financial assistance applications year round from families from the Alabama region that are battling childhood cancer. The funds raised by HFAF also directly benefit Alabama’s Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorder’s Developmental Therapeutics program, which is a cutting-edge research and treatment program located in Birmingham at Children’s Hospital of Alabama. This program serves the children with incurable cancers, providing treatments that are not widely available. Finally, HFAF works to raise awareness of childhood cancer simply because awareness leads to funding, and funding leads to cures. In five short years, Hope for Autumn Foundation has provided close to $120,000 in direct financial assistance to families battling childhood cancer. Additionally, over $80,000 has been given to the innovative research program at Children’s of Alabama that focuses on kids with difficult to treat cancers.
