Who Are We?
Can Do Coalition (CDC) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit charity dedicated to helping the fight against cancer, particularly on behalf of children with cancer.
Mission and Programs
Mission
We recruit Champions!
In operation since 2002, Can Do Coalition has educated and motivated thousands of individuals to become stem cell volunteers. These are special individuals we call CHAMPIONS, because they make themselves available to help others.
You too can become a Champion! ... How?
(1) Learn more about stem cells, stem cell registries, and how you can join (volunteer), by reading our FAQs.
(2) Join a stem cell registry and request a buccal swab. Swab your cheek and send the swab back to the registry. Your registry will take your buccal swab and do what is known as Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing.
(3) If the registry calls you in the future, it is likely because your HLA matches that of a patient in need. Please follow-through and share your regenerable stem cells with the patient in need.
Programs
Can Do Coalition is probably best known for the Do Good Donor Game (DGDG) -- one of the earliest public service "games" on the Web. In a traditional video game, a player is creatively engaged and encouraged to accomplish specific game objectives. For example, a player of a match-3 game is motivated to match as many digital candies together as she can, because when she does, she earns points that eventually result in a game prize or achievement. The Do Good Donor Game (DGDG) is like a traditional video game, in that it too creatively engages and encourages players to accomplish specific "game" objectives. However, instead of earning points by matching digital candies together, players of the DGDG earn HOPE ribbons by learning why and how to become a volunteer in a stem cell registry. For every 100 HOPE ribbons earned by members of the public, Can Do Coalition procures and delivers a free gift to a kid with cancer. Please see the DGDG module for complete details.
Can Do Coalition, through the DGDG, continues to increase the number of volunteers in the stem cell registries so that when someone has an urgent need for a stem cell donor, they can find one. Can Do Coalition recognizes that while finding a good HLA match is good, finding a great HLA match is better. Thus, the more volunteers we can recruit into joining the stem cell registries the higher the probability that more patients will find great HLA matches.
Importantly, the DGDG represents the culmination and integration of several concurrent public service efforts. For example, in order to make the DGDG go, Can Do Coalition (CDC) needs to create and procure gifts and activities for kids fighting cancer. CDC then needs to coordinate the delivery of those gifts and it does so by working with the pediatric team at City of Hope. In sum, Can Do Coalition (CDC) via DGDG, has supported patients, patient families and the stem cell registries since its inception in 2002.
In concert with a growing goodwill alliance, Can Do Coalition has succeeded in educating the public about the volunteer stem cell registries, recruiting stem cell volunteers (donors), and providing thousands of gifts and activities to pediatric oncology patients.