LANCASTER, N.Y. (WKBW) — P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative, an organization supporting children with cancer and their families, is expanding its services to families navigating the most difficult of circumstances.
I had the opportunity to tour the new Western New York Compassion Connection: Center for Grieving Children & Families before its opening on Wednesday.
"When I say this was a labor of love, it's the truth," P.U.N.T. Executive Director Gwen Mysiak said. "It really truly belongs to Western New York."
In 2024, P.U.N.T. was awarded a $500,000 state grant to expand its bereavement program beyond families impacted by pediatric cancer.
"Expanding this beyond that, and to any origin of loss, has been a really big undertaking, but something that's so needed in the community," P.U.N.T. Assistant Director Jonathan McGrath said.
Anchor and senior reporter Michael Wooten spoke with four Western New Yorkers who have a close connection to the Compassion Connection: Center for Grieving Children & Families. You can watch their conversation in the video below.
"Our community has suffered so much loss. The mass shooting, the blizzard. So much hurt and pain," Mysiak said. "This belongs to the community, and we'll need to fundraise to maintain it."
More than $2 million in donations has allowed P.U.N.T. to design the center with intention and thoughtfulness.
"We didn't want this to feel clinical," Mysiak said. "We wanted people to immediately relax and feel like it's a space they belong. Where they can come and connect with each other organically."
P.U.N.T. needs volunteers. You can learn more about the organization and sign up online here.
