4 Winners of the “Health” Call for Projects

Last September marked the close of the first health-focused call for projects launched by ALTRAD Solidarity. After reviewing the many proposals submitted by national and international associations, four projects were selected by the employee committee and the Board of Directors of ALTRAD Solidarity. Here is an overview of the winning organizations:

• For nearly 15 years, Imagine for Margo, created in tribute to Margo, has been mobilizing efforts for children and adolescents with cancer by funding fundamental, translational, and clinical research. To date, the organization has invested €28 million in 89 projects, directly benefiting more than 9,000 patients. Each year, 2,500 children, adolescents, and young adults are diagnosed with cancer. Among them, 500 die, and two-thirds of survivors suffer long-term side effects from their treatment into adulthood. Brain tumors are the second most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. High-grade forms, particularly diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), are the most common, affecting 500 children in Europe each year.
  ALTRAD Solidarity is proud to support the BIOMEDE clinical trial, initiated in 2014, which marked a major breakthrough, as for the first time eight children with DIPG were cured. Furthermore, thanks to advanced genetic analysis, BIOMEDE has made it possible to identify all the factors involved in the disease and to open up promising new therapeutic avenues. Now considered a global reference, the trial has been extended to nine additional European countries.

• PHOCEO, the endowment fund of Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), was created in 2020 during the height of the health crisis. Its mission is to support AP-HM, its teams, and its patients in their projects, while also promoting training and research. To date, it has raised more than €7 million and funded nearly 160 projects.
  ALTRAD Solidarity is contributing to the acquisition of a particle accelerator combined with MRI technology to treat pediatric cancers. This revolutionary machine offers real hope for the hundred children treated each year. It will help reduce side effects and long-term complications, lower the risk of secondary cancers, and open up unprecedented research opportunities. Installed in the pediatric oncology department of Timone Hospital in Marseille, it is the first machine of its kind in France.

• The association Sourire à la Vie, based in Marseille, created the first recreational day center dedicated to children with illnesses. This innovative support model offers day-care “outpatient-style” programs that uniquely combine medical care with group physical activities. The program is complemented by creative workshops, leisure activities, and learning adapted to each child’s level. Each session is prepared and tailored to the age and situation of the young patient, under the supervision of a medical, caregiving, and educational team, in constant coordination with the hospital’s referring physician. The team includes a specialist in adapted physical activity, a pediatric oncologist, a pediatric nurse, a house manager, and several support care specialists depending on the daily program.
  ALTRAD Solidarity is very pleased to support more than 100 beneficiaries who take part in 84 day sessions at the Château Sourire in Marseille.

• Stay Close is an association based in Belgium that supports families of children with cancer by helping ease their daily lives. It organizes information and recruitment sessions for host families and offers an online support module for foster families and caregivers. The organization aims to support 300 families in 2026, increase this number to 1,000 within two years, and expand its activities to France and the Netherlands.
  ALTRAD Solidarity is pleased to support this initiative, which provides much-needed respite for families of hospitalized children, and looks forward to its future expansion.