Galia and Friends is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the emotional well-being of parents who are caring for children with brain tumors. Galia and Friends enhances their lives by providing several respite services, small “luxuries” to renew their spirits as they continue their caregiving responsibilities.

Galia and Friends is the inspired idea of Galia Meiri Stawski, a clinical social worker who conceived and coordinated the services at The Childhood Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Center at Schneider Children’s Hospital on Long Island from the Center’s inception in 2001 until 2006.

While counseling parents and caregivers of the Center’s seriously ill young patients, and arranging for an array of community resources and supports, she came to realize that no funding was available for a very special kind of support these families need. Taking care of a chronically ill child is one of the most draining and difficult tasks a parent can face.

Giving caregivers the luxury of a little “time off” to focus on their own personal needs can help them through the challenges of providing TLC around the clock. That is the genesis and the mission of Galia and Friends.