Cancer sucks. Especially if you’re a kid.
In the next year, dance and music-based interventions will be utilized at Austin Hatcher Foundation to aid in the physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual well being of their recovering childhood cancer patients. Music-based therapies have demonstrated success in improving patients' communication, self-esteem, and aid in physical recovery. For one patient, in particular, music-based therapy enabled him to communicate both through sign language in dance and verbally through audio. This young man is both a cancer survivor and suffers from cerebral palsy from the unfortunate side effect of life-saving medication. Because he struggles with communication, his mother has been very thankful that this intervention that has become available to her family at no cost thanks to the contributions made by the UNFoundation of Chattanooga. These interventions will be available year-round to all patients at no cost, regardless of race, socioeconomics and age.
Our $3,000 grant will pay for a mix of individual and group-based dance and music classes in the Spring of 2020 and will allow Austin Hatcher to host group music and dance therapy at their 2020 summer camps in June/July of 2020. The instructor is Louie Marin, and he will be in residence as the instructor for all classes.