Luck. When I was a kid, luck was about beating my brothers in a game of cards, getting the cereal box toy in my bowl, or getting the last ticket to a new movie. I didn’t know that I was lucky to simply be healthy; it didn’t cross my mind. I wore my innocence like a shield, believing my parents’ love and a kiss could heal anything.
We weren’t forced to live under a dark cloud, worrying every minute that cancer would spread, or reappear later, or that treatment would disable us, or worse, take one of us.
My family’s good health wasn’t the result of our parents doing anything different from any other parents. Our genes simply behaved.
Why were we so lucky when others were not?
I ask myself this a hundred times a day, but as science doesn’t yet know the answer, I pay it forward by finding a cure — not in a laboratory, but by using my own strengths and abilities to work for a cure. The fact that I can help conquer childhood cancers isn’t unusual. Everyone can.
Every day my Dad wears a St. Baldrick’s t-shirt under his clothes — like Superman, always ready to fight for our kids. That kind of individuality and passion is why the St. Baldrick’s Foundation launched Do What You Want, a way for you to use an idea as unique as you to raise funds for lifesaving research. I often say, “If you have hair or know someone who does, there’s a place for you at St. Baldrick’s.” Now we can also say, “Want to keep your hair? No problem! Do What You Want!”
The fact that I can help conquer childhood cancers isn’t unusual. Everyone can.
This isn’t the only new development at St. Baldrick’s. Our new Hero Funds program, to be expanded later this year, will allow families to establish a lasting fund in honor or in memory of their child. Families can use St. Baldrick’s successful fundraising tools to support the world’s best research without the work and expense of establishing and managing their own foundation.
And in time for this holiday season, we’ll launch a new and improved Tribute & Memorial gift program, allowing you to honor your clients and loved ones for any occasion, just by visiting our website. What better gift for the person who has everything, except a cure for childhood cancers?
Thanks to the generosity of St. Baldrick’s volunteers and donors, next month, we’ll award another round of grants to help improve the way hospitals care for our kids.
Children aren’t lucky to be diagnosed with cancer, but with your continued help, they will be fortunate to one day hear, “You’re cured.”
You can help cure childhood cancers. Get involved today.
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