The Sanborn Foundation - Providing financial assistance to Arlington MA residents affected by cancer since 1998

How can the Sanborn Foundation help me?

The Sanborn Foundation helps Arlington Massachusetts residents pay for expenses related to their cancer care and treatment. Since its inception, the Foundation has granted over $5,000,000 and helped hundreds of your friends and neighbors.

Do I qualify?

If you are an Arlington Massachusetts resident and have a letter from your medical provider verifying a cancer diagnosis, you are eligible to apply for a grant.

If you have additional questions, please review our frequently asked questions page or contact us for more information.

Do you provide transportation assistance?

Funded by a grant from the Sanborn Foundation, the Arlington Council on Aging Transportation Program provides rides for Sanborn recipients of any age to cancer-related medical appointments.

Learn more about arranging for a ride or escort to your medical appointments.

Recipient Stories

A hospital social worker told Carol Bell about Sanborn following her diagnosis of rectal cancer in 2017. The Foundation has covered co-payments, transportation and parking to medical appointments and prescriptions.

How do I apply?

The Sanborn Foundation uses an easy, online program to process applications and maintain individual recipient accounts.

If you need assistance, please contact our Outreach Coordinator, Sheelah Ward at 781-859-6079. Or, if you’re ready to apply now, click the button below:

Apply Online

Testimonials

I just want to say how incredibly grateful I am to the Sanborn Foundation for their help during my time of need. I was completely overwhelmed when I was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. It’s been a whirlwind year – two rounds of chemotherapy/immunotherapy, two surgeries and then radiation, during which the COVID19 outbreak occurred. But the Sanborn Foundation has been so helpful with medical bills and other expenses. I just wanted to reach out and say how grateful I am for all that you have done.

I wanted to send my deepest, heartfelt thanks for all financial support I was given during a very difficult diagnosis and recovery this year.
Eight months post-surgery, I am fully back to life… working, swimming, travel, time with friends and family.
The support I got from Sanborn was invaluable, and made an uncertain time just a bit easier.

M.S.

I have been struggling with breast cancer off and on since 2009 and Sanborn has helped me tremendously along the way.

My illness kept me from working full-time. As a single parent, it has not always been easy to make ends meet, but you have helped to bridge the gap.

Being awarded a grant took the weight of worry about financing my husbands care off of my shoulders. Thank you for the work you do and the care you show when you do it.

Thank you very much to the Sanborn Foundation for helping me out. I am glad you are there for me, if I need you.

It is beyond belief what a unique and amazing resource you are for the residents of Arlington. Being diagnosed with cancer has been an emotionally traumatic experience for me on many levels. This includes the overwhelming financial costs that are related to my treatment. The funds that I have received from the Sanborn Foundation are a ray of sunshine and hope in what has been a dark storm and will be of immense help as I continue to struggle with this disease. Thank you very, very much.

The Sanborn Foundation has helped me greatly during a long treatment period. The reliable transportation to and from the hospital, which took the stress out of my treatment and the precise arrival time, no financial burden, and wonderful companionship of very caring people has made me very comfortable during this long recovery period. I am very grateful that Arlington provides this wonderful program.

The funds from the Sanborn have meant a tremendous amount to me and my family. We have been able to focus on me getting better instead of on the financial stress, in addition to the overwhelming situation we have found ourselves in.

Thank you for the generous support given to my sister. It made a huge difference, especially in her last months, knowing she wasn’t leaving a financial burden to her husband and children.

Wow, it is so amazing and kind of the foundation to approve my grant. This will be so tremendously helpful- can’t even express how helpful…and it just fills my heart with appreciation and gratitude (sounds corny but true!)

Providing financial assistance to Arlington residents affected by cancer since 1998