One week.
Two weeks.
A month.
Children with cancer may spend up to six months in the hospital receiving treatments.
“Go Gold” is an initiative in September to raise awareness for children’s cancer. Student Council held a toy drive from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3 for children receiving in-hospital treatment. They partnered with the Candlelighters organization who sent the donations to Texas Children’s Hospital and MD Anderson.
“Our sophomore class is trying to raise awareness by doing a toy or item donation drive,” Student Council advisor Christine Badillo said. “As a cancer mom, I think it’s really really important to raise awareness for this.”
Despite not being able to directly see the impact of their donations, a childhood cancer survivor, who preferred to be anonymous, said that students demonstrating their encouragement is a great way to show the patients that someone cares.
“I always remember the support I received from family and friends during the tough times I underwent,” the childhood cancer survivor said. “Seeing how much people care really made an impact on me.”
The Go Gold initiative is generally done in September, but there are ways the public can continue to support children with cancer after the month is over.
“Volunteering time at hospitals or supporting families in need through meal trains or care packages can also make a meaningful impact,” President of Sporting Hope Youth Organization Nadja Nikolic said. “Additionally, students can join cancer awareness clubs at their schools, like Sporting Hope, to become more actively involved and make a difference.”
Although there are many ways to help adult cancer patients within the community, it is especially important to raise awareness around childhood cancer.
“When we try to ‘turn it gold,’ it’s to raise awareness for our pediatric warriors, but also ways to raise awareness on the lack of funding for childhood cancer,” Badillo said. “They only get 4% of the federal budget for cancer research. The other 96% goes to adult research. Once [kids] get cancer there’s a huge probability that they will have long-term health impacts.”
Childhood cancer awareness and sending encouragement to children with cancer can be impactful, no matter how small the action might seem.
“It’s a wonderful thing to show your support and spread awareness of this issue,” the childhood cancer survivor said. “When I was undergoing treatment, I loved feeling supported by the toys and gifts, but the simple notes made an even bigger difference.”
