“When my son was nine, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. At the toughest time of his life, he needed to be with his friends the most, but he was stuck at home going through treatment,” recalls Len Forkas. “So we were able to connect with his classmates using Logitech cameras and laptop computers. You should have been in the room when those two cameras clicked on and my son could see his friends and they could see him. It was so magical.”

Thus, Hopecam was born. Hopecam connects children with cancer to their classrooms, friends, educators, and support system while they’re undergoing treatment. One of the first side-effects a child may experience after being diagnosed with cancer is isolation. From their friends. Their classmates. Their schools. This program keeps children connected, decreasing the loneliness and anxiety that young patients may experience when undergoing treatment for cancer.

The Hopecam team needed affordable and reliable video communications to scale their program and provide as close to face-to-face interactions as possible. Logitech and Zoom teamed up to support Hopecam’s mission and deliver world-class, reliable, and simple video communications.

“It feels like the children are in the room because of the Zoom connection. We started with Zoom about two years ago and it has been seamless with the Logitech equipment – it has been a great relationship,” said Forkas, the founder of Hopecam.

As a result, Zoom and Logitech have helped Hopecam connect over 2,000 students to 40,000 classmates throughout the United States and abroad. Watch this video to hear the story of one such student, Elyssia. Elyssia was going to miss her freshman year of high school due to her cancer treatment.

“You start thinking about all the things you take for granted, such as your child going to school,” said Elyssia’s father, Eric Brown. Elyssia added, “Being able to connect in and still be in social interactions with everyone … definitely puts a smile on my face.”