Previously published by Blood Cancer United
By E. Anders Kolb, MD, President and CEO, Blood Cancer United
As a pediatric hematologist-oncologist, I learned early on in my career that treating cancer takes more than medicine—it takes support, compassion, and a community that shows up for families.
When someone is diagnosed with blood cancer—whether it’s leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, or one of more than 100 other types—in that moment, life changes. Families are pulled into appointments, test results, and treatment decisions. Caregivers become advocates and anchors. Patients balance fear with the need to keep moving forward.
And in the middle of it all, people need comfort, practical support, and to know they are not alone.
A Partnership Built on Care
That belief has been at the heart of Subaru Loves to Care®, an initiative built from Subaru of America ‘s longstanding partnership with Blood Cancer United. For more than a decade, Subaru, its retailers, customers, and employees have helped bring warmth, encouragement, and tangible relief to people facing cancer across the country.
Since 2016, the program has reached more than 550,000 patients with blankets, care kits, educational resources, handwritten messages, and financial assistance. This year, Subaru retailers delivered more than 51,000 blankets and over 9,000 patient care kits, along with Blood Cancer United resources and messages of hope written by retailer employees and customers in their local communities.
A soft blanket or handwritten note may seem like simple gestures. But for someone in an infusion chair or waiting to complete their treatment that day, they mean something larger: care that can be felt.
United by a Bold Mission
At Blood Cancer United, our mission is to cure blood cancer and improve the quality of life of all patients and their families. We’ve set a bold goal: by 2040, to enable people with blood cancer to gain more than one million years of life.
That goal reflects the future we are working toward: more birthdays, more graduations, more family dinners, and more everyday moments made possible because patients are living longer, fuller lives.
But we cannot reach this goal alone.
That is part of why we are now Blood Cancer United. The word “united” reflects what has always been true. Progress happens when patients, families, clinicians, researchers, volunteers, advocates, donors, and partners come together around a shared purpose. We need mission-aligned partners who understand that impact is strongest when we work together.
Subaru is one of those partners—committed to turning national purpose into local impact through the Subaru Love Promise®.
Helping Families Through Financial Strain
A blood cancer diagnosis often brings financial strain that families are not prepared for. Even with insurance, the cost of care is high and extends far beyond treatment.
In 2026, Subaru retailers once again raised over $1 million for our Urgent Need Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Fund, helping more than 1,800 families cover essentials like food, housing, transportation, and utilities. This is especially important knowing half of recipients live on less than $40,000 per year, and 15 percent are in medically underserved areas.
For these families, this support brings stability when everything feels uncertain.
As one patient shared: “My phone was going to get cut off this month. This helped with gas, extra food, and things my children needed for school.”
No one facing cancer should have to worry about life’s most basic needs. This is what meaningful partnership looks like for the families we serve: gas in the car, groceries on the table, a phone still connected, and one less burden to carry.
National Scale, Local Heart
Along with its national reach, what makes Subaru Loves to Care so powerful is its local impact.
Across the country, Subaru retailers served as local hubs of compassion. Customers and retailer employees wrote messages of hope. Retailer teams delivered blankets and care kits to nearby treatment centers. Local Blood Cancer United teams helped connect resources with the patients and families who need them. What began as a national initiative becomes personal in each community.
That local connection matters because cancer can be extremely isolating. When a patient receives a handwritten card from someone in their own community, it breaks through that isolation. It says: we may not know each other, but you matter.
Inviting More People Into the Mission
Subaru has also helped expand our community of support. In 2025, its $100,000 matching gift helped double June online giving and triple October one-time donations—driving a 240 percent year-over-year increase. Building on that success, Subaru again supported our June Match campaign this year, helping amplify donor impact and extend the reach of our mission to support blood cancer patients and their families. Every gift fuels research, patient support, and advocacy. Every new supporter strengthens our lifesaving mission and the community standing behind people with blood cancer.
This partnership at its best is all about extending reach, deepening impact, and bringing organizational values to life through action.
A Decade Plus of Showing Up
Eleven years in, Subaru Loves to Care is more than a campaign. It is a sustained commitment to showing up.
It has brought comfort into treatment centers, relief to families in crisis, and connection to blood cancer patients who might otherwise feel alone. It has mobilized customers, employees, and retailers as messengers of hope.
At Blood Cancer United, we are accelerating research, supporting patients and families, advocating for policy change, and building a community that helps people live longer, fuller lives.
The work ahead requires urgency, collaboration, and a shared belief that no one should face blood cancer alone. Subaru has shown what it means to turn that belief into action — bringing comfort, relief, and hope to patients and families when they need it most.