“We’re trying to be that little angel that can help make a small difference here and there,” NASCAR driver, Kurt Busch, says about his new pediatric cancer organization The Monarch Fund.
Busch, 41, created The Monarch Fund alongside his wife Ashley Van Metre to help families who are struggling financially after their children went through cancer treatment. According to a study from The National Children’s Cancer Society (NCCS) which surveyed 449 families, 95 percent of them experienced financial burden due to their children’s cancer treatment, and 25 percent of families lost 40 percent or more of their household income — which doesn’t even include travel expenses.
In addition to medical bills, taking care of a child battling cancer can sometimes be a full-time job in itself. According to the NCCS study, roughly 33 percent of people had to either change or quit their jobs while taking care of the pediatric patient — that’s where The Monarch Fund comes in.
To help ease the financial burden, Busch says that they work with fellow pediatric cancer nonprofit Polo For Life’s Florida chapter to raise money through silent auctions and charity events such as live polo matches. All of the proceeds go to helping families of pediatric cancer patients who lost work, travel expenses, and more.
“It’s amazing what isn’t being taken care of before insurance, and other costs and expenditures that pop up,” Busch says. “The family is impacted in a way that’s not really seen as much, and we wanted to be that angel that swooped in to help when there’s time taken away from work, when there’s different travel expenditures, and unforeseen problems that pop up. We want to be there to help the families stay more connected through the process and have an easier time going through it.”
A professional polo player, Van Metre started volunteering with Polo For Life, and her inspiration to start The Monarch Fund began when she met Polo For Life’s co-founder Brandon Phillips, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma as a child. Additionally, Van Metre has worked through a number of philanthropic organizations through her swimwear line Monarch Reign. While attending the polo matches sponsored by The Monarch Fund, Busch says that being able to see the families this work is going towards is the most gratifying experience for both him and Van Metre.
“The moments at the polo field where the families come out and see Ashley and Brandon in action, we’ve been able to provide those moments outside of the hospital that create an environment where they’re looking forward to going and experiencing it all,” Busch says. “That’s something I believe is important to have experiences outside the hospital and outside of the tough, troubled spots.”
As a famed NASCAR driver, Busch has been able to use his public platform to spread awareness about Monarch Fund’s mission, and provide exciting items for their fundraising — such as VIP tickets to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500.
“Once we were getting the bids up really high, there were two bidders going back and forth, and I said ‘you know, everyone is a winner here, both of you come to Daytona,’ so there were two completely separate packages that raised over $50,000 in five minutes,” Busch says. “It’s really amazing that star power and notoriety can do that, and I’m able to do it.”
Like many other charity organizations, the coronavirus pandemic has forced Busch and Van Metre to put live charity events hosted by The Monarch Fund on hold at the moment. However, the team is still actively trying to keep fundraising going. Busch admits the future is unclear, but their work won’t stop.
“Once the light at the end of the tunnel gets closer, and we’re able to operate in a more free manner, then that’s we’ll have more strategies that we can implement as we move forward,” Busch says.
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