The Kimberly Fund
The Kimberly Fund gives children impacted by colorectal cancer a chance to put cancer aside, even for just a moment, and be a kid again.
Grants for Families Facing Colorectal Cancer
The Kimberly Fund gives children impacted by colorectal cancer a chance to put cancer aside, even for just a moment, and be a kid again.
The Fund awards two kinds of grants:
- Individual grants (up to $500)
- Family grants (up to $2,000)
Applications are open from August – September each year. Recipients will be notified in October.
Kimberly Fund grants are available to families or children (ages 0-18) who have been impacted by a parent or primary caregiver being diagnosed with or passing away from colorectal cancer.
Funds will be awarded for experiences; the Fund does not cover living expenses or medical bills.
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About Kim
Kimberly Troisi-Paton was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in May 2005 at age 41. For more than five years, Kim was bloated, fatigued, anemic, and had sporadic rectal bleeding, but her doctors told her it was nothing serious. When her OB/GYN suggested taking anti-depressants, Kim took matters into her own hands.
A former boss had talked openly about getting his colonoscopy, so after doing some research, Kim demanded one for herself. She was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer and had surgery and chemotherapy.
In December 2006, Kim was diagnosed with an aggressive recurrence, but it didn’t slow her down. While going through chemo, she worked tirelessly as an amazing wife, mother, attorney, and author. After a two-and-a-half-year battle, Kim passed away on August 10, 2007.After being featured in the 2007 Colondar, a project of The Colon Club, Kim discovered her passion to educate young adults that colorectal cancer can happen to anyone at any time. Kim had the strength to stand up to reluctant doctors, and she fought so others would have the courage to take charge of their own health care and get answers when they know that something is wrong.
About the Fund
The Kimberly Fund was established by Kim’s family and friends as a way to honor her memory. The Fund was created to give children whose parent is facing colorectal cancer or passed away from colorectal cancer a chance to put cancer aside, even for just a moment, and be a kid again.
Originally established in partnership with The Colon Club, the Kimberly Fund became part of Fight CRC when the two organizations merged in 2023. Fight CRC continues to honor Kim’s legacy and distribute grants each year.
100% of all donations made to the Kimberly Fund will be restricted and applied toward Kimberly Fund grants.
Kimberly Fund Stories
Moments of Joy Made Possible by You
The Grubb Family
I was diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer when my youngest daughter was just six months old, and just one day before my 40th birthday in 2021. Since then, my husband and I have tried to keep a sense of normalcy for our kids, while navigating treatments, jobs, and parenting. We have only succeeded because of our village of friends and family. And, now, we are lucky to add the Kimberly Fund to our inner circle.
We are incredibly thankful to the Kimberly Fund for providing us a wonderful holiday in Crested Butte, CO. We were able to take a break from real life and spend Christmas in our happy place – the mountains. Our time was spent skiing, drinking hot chocolate by the fire, eating all the snacks, and playing games in our pjs. I smile when I think about the memories and magic we created on this trip, which was only made possible through the generous grant we received.
Lucas’ Story
Sometimes really good things can come out of cancer. Since Lucas has been asking over the last year and a half to “redo” his room, we thought this could be the perfect opportunity. An added bonus was that Christian agreed to give Lucas his room (which Lucas has been eyeing up due to its larger size!) Over the last few weeks, Lucas and I have been shopping together like kids in a candy store. The biggest ticket item on his list was a full/queen sized bed. I told him that could easily eat away his budget, but we looked nonetheless. We hit gold a few weeks ago when we stumbled upon a Mattress Warehouse store that was consolidating its inventory and had everything marked down 90%!! We purchased a queen sized Tempur-Pedic mattress (normally $2700.00) for $270.00. The box spring set us back an extra $20.00. Lucas was thrilled! He kept saying, “Mom, it’s a good thing we went in that store!”
Over the last few weeks, we hit up all my favorite stores… Home Goods, TJ Maxx, World Market. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Lucas would come home from school some days and say, “Mom, can we go look for pillows and art tonight?” We both benefited from the diversion and loved the time together. We talked a lot, and I gave him a few tutorials in color, scale, and accessorizing. If the day comes when I can get back into decorating mode, I’m pretty sure I’ve found my perfect wingman! Lucas has a good eye!
We still have a few things to do, but for the most part we have transformed the space. Lucas LOVES his new bed and can’t get enough of the high-end mattress! The first night we laid together in the dark in his new room he said, “Mom, if you could see my smile right now, it stretches all the way to my earlobes!