Candlelighters Joins Any Baby Can Family

Merger creates a more efficient and effective agency serving children with special needs including cancer diagnosis, at-risk children and their families

Announcing the completed merger of the two organizations, Lila Carl exclaimed, ”It’s a perfect fit!” The consolidated agency will keep the name Any Baby Can. Candlelighters services will remain intact and will maintain the name Candlelighters as an affiliate and one of the key programs within Any Baby Can.

Long time Candlelighters supporter and new Any Baby Can boardmember, Deborah Sharp echoed Dr. Carl’s sentiments. “With a change such as this, we were concerned that the philosophy of operations and services would be maintained. We’ve always put the needs of the families first. As we’ve come to know the board and staff at Any Baby Can, we’ve grown comfortable and realize that this is, indeed, a wonderful blending of two fine organizations with common goals and missions.”

The merger has been supported by many local foundations and companies including Applied Materials, United Way Capital Area and Randalls.

“Randalls has been a proud supporter of Any Baby Can for many years and
with the inclusion of Candlelighters, they will be able to serve their children and families with greater care and more resources,” said Connie Yates, Randalls’ Public Affairs
Director.

“The Topfer Family Foundation supports the joining of these two organizations (Any Baby Can and Candlelighters),” said Alan Topfer, Vice President, Topfer Family Foundation. “Both agencies have had a profound effect in our community and we're expecting even greater results as they consolidate to maximize productivity, resources, and community impact.”

This merger eliminates most of the Candlelighters' overhead with the move into the ABC offices on East 7th street, allows for more streamlined service to clients cutting back on possible duplication of service, and consolidates marketing and fundraising to more efficiently use community resources, all while keeping the same services the Austin community desperately needs.

“This strategic decision to merge strengthens our community's ability to meet the needs of the children and families in Central Texas,” said David Balch, president, United Way Capital Area. “During these difficult economic times, we must all look at new and innovative approaches to service delivery. United Way salutes Any Baby Can and Candlelighters for taking steps to come together to achieve these goals.”

The Candlelighters program provides comprehensive psychosocial support and service for children with cancer and similar blood disorders, and their families throughout all stages of cancer including initial diagnosis, treatment, periods of remission and, when necessary, during bereavement, serving hundreds of families every year.