A Herd of Hope
How The CHOC Cows were Born

Kerrin and Grant Bain are not only the founders of The Cows. They are parents, advocates and long-standing members of the CHOC family whose personal journey reshaped the way childhood cancer support is done in South Africa.

In 2008, after losing their daughter Jessica to cancer, they faced the kind of grief that changes everything. Through their daughter’s treatment journey, they experienced first-hand the emotional weight, logistical strain and financial pressure that families carry when a child or teen is diagnosed. They also experienced the role CHOC plays in holding families together through accommodation, transport support and psychosocial care. That relationship did not end in a hospital. It evolved.

Rather than stepping away, Kerrin and Grant chose to lean in.

They gathered eight friends and committed to a single fundraising ride in Jessica’s honour at what was then known as the 947 cycle race. That first ride raised R230,000 for CHOC. It was not intended to become a national movement. It was an act of remembrance and gratitude. But the spirit behind it resonated far beyond that initial group.

The Cows were born.

Seventeen years later, The Cows have grown into one of CHOC’s most recognisable and impactful fundraising partners. Members of the herd commit to raising funds for CHOC while taking on sporting events or physical challenges, turning kilometres into care and race days into real impact for families navigating childhood cancer.

The relationship between CHOC and The Cows is deeply rooted in shared purpose. The Cows raise funds that directly enable CHOC’s core programmes including accommodation near treatment centres, transport assistance so no appointment is missed due to cost and psychosocial counselling for patients and families.

Beyond the financial contribution, The Cows represent community in action. Their visibility at events sparks conversations about childhood cancer awareness. Their storytelling humanises the journey. Their continued commitment ensures sustainability, allowing CHOC to plan and deliver support with confidence and continuity.

The Bain family are a living legacy for Jessica and for every child or teenager supported by CHOC. Through the herd, their daughter’s memory continues to create tangible change for families they may never meet, but whose journeys they understand deeply.

At CHOC, we see daily how partnerships built on shared experience carry extraordinary strength. A diagnosis may alter the course of a family’s life, but it should never isolate them. The Cows stand as a powerful reminder that healing extends beyond treatment rooms. It lives in community. It moooves forward when people choose to turn personal loss into collective hope.

Through the years, The Cows have grown into one of CHOC’s most recognisable fundraising partners. What began with one family’s decision to honour their daughter has become a national movement of compassion. And every supporter who backs The Cows or gives to CHOC becomes part of that shared story a story where remembrance becomes action and hope continues to travel forward.

Home for the Holidays

Because Healing Includes Being Home

Before there is a hospital room, there is a journey.

An overnight bag packed quietly.
A long road to a treatment centre far from home.

For many families navigating childhood cancer, care is not around the corner. It can mean travelling hundreds of kilometres, facing fuel costs they never planner for and making choices between expenses no parents should ever weigh. Healing is not only medical. It is logistical.

At CHOC, we understand that distance can delay care. A missed appointment can interrupt treatment. A cancelled trip can mean added risk.

Transport is not a convenience. It is access to survival.

Through CHOC’s Transport Support Programme, children and teenagers are able to travel safely to and from treatment. When doctors confirm it is safe, families can return home between treatment cycles restoring familiarity, comfort and emotional strength.

But the journey does not end at the hospital door.

When families are away from home for extended periods, the practical strain grows heavy. Toiletries run out. Clean clothes become scarce. Parents grow exhausted. Siblings need reassurance.

CHOC’s Practical Support Programme steps into those in-between moments.

CHOC Carebags are filled with essentials.
Nutritional support when cupboards are far away.
Small comforts that soften long hospital days.

For a family who has travelled hours for treatment, healing can feel clinical. For that same child, even a short time at home can change everything. Moments we often can take for granted, sleeping in their own bed, hearing siblings laugh in the next room, sitting at the family table becomes part of their healing too.

This season, your generosity funds the journey in-between. It recognises that healing does not happen in isolation, but when families can access care, while staying connected to home.

Help keep healing moving. Help families stay connected to both care and to home.

Stepping up with Purpose

Flip Flop Day 2026 reminded us what happens when a nation steps forward together.

From school corridors to corporate boardrooms, South Africans flipped for children and teenagers diagnosed cancer. And because of you, CHOC can continue providing:

• Accommodation near treatment centres
• Transport when distance feels overwhelming
• Psychosocial support for families
• Educational continuity during treatment
• Bereavement support when it’s needed most

This wasn’t just about a sticker.
It represented stability and dignity, hope made visible

Join CHOC in Making 2027 Stronger

We would love your feedback, click here to share your views.

Your experience matters, whether you hosted an event, bought a sticker or supported online. Tell us what worked. What inspired you. What we can improve.

Powered by Purpose-Driven Partners

Flip Flop Day 2026 was amplified through the meaningful support of our national partners:

• Tekkie Town
• The Courier Guy
• Ipanema
• OUTsurance

Their belief in the mission of CHOC helps extend care further, faster and with greater reach.

To every corporate, school, media partner and volunteer, thank you for standing beside children and families when it matters most.

Every name on these bags belongs to a child or teenager whose journey has reshaped a family’s world.

These are not simply names. They are stories of courage. Hospital corridors walked slowly. Schoolwork completed between treatments. Parents holding hands in waiting rooms. Siblings learning resilience far too soon. When you carry this accessory bag or tote, you carry remembrance, honour and hope. You acknowledge that behind every diagnosis is a life filled with dreams, laughter and possibility. You stand alongside families who have faced the unimaginable and choose to say: you are not forgotten. Each name represents a reason CHOC exists. Each name has walked through CHOC’s programmes over the past year.

Because of your support, we are able to stand beside these families with accommodation, transport, counselling and practical care when it is needed most.

These bags are a quiet tribute.
A visible reminder.
A conversation starter.

They carry names.
They carry purpose.
They carry hope forward.
Purchase yours today here!