ThinkBIG Pediatric Cancer Fund

ThinkBIG was named in memory of 9-year-old Carmine Monacelli, who unfortunately lost his battle with pediatric cancer. During his treatment course, Carmine was known for his positive attitude, altruism, and futuristic dreams. One day, he would want to be a WWF wrestler, the next day, a marine, and some days, a marine biologist. He even wanted to be the first American Pope. Carmine left us with a legacy of ThinkingBIG.

ThinkBIG's mission is to relieve the stress of everyday financial expenses so families battling pediatric cancer can concentrate on treatment and healing. Families of children with pediatric cancer struggle with unexpected out-of-pocket costs due to the significant amount of time that is spent in the hospital caring for their child and due to caregivers often having to take a leave of absence from work. ThinkBIG® is dedicated to minimizing this stress by providing financial support to these families for everyday cost of living expenses and unpaid medical bills.

Since 2014, ThinkBIG has helped more than 277 pediatric cancer patients and their families with more than $1,600,000 of financial support. ThinkBIG supports families who reside or are receiving treatment in several central and northeast Pennsylvania counties, including Blair, Bradford, Carbon, Centre, Cameron, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Elk, Huntington, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mifflin, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. These families were treated at several hospitals, including Geisinger Janet Weis Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley Children's Hospital, Penn State Hershey, UPMC of Pittsburgh, and St. Christopher's  Hospital for Children.