I've answered the call to be a hero! I'm having my head shaved to stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer, but more importantly, to raise money to find cures. Please support me with a donation to the St. Baldrick's Foundation. This volunteer-driven charity funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. Your gift will give hope to infants, children, teens and young adults fighting childhood cancers. So when I ask for your support, I'm really asking you to support these kids. Thank you
Why we are raising money to fight kid's cancer - by Carrie Mahan Groce
As you may have noticed, for the second year, our family is choosing to honor Emmy's memory during the week of her death by participating in the St. Baldrick's yearly fundraising event. Jay, will be shaving his head next Friday in solidarity and support of childhood cancer patients.
We feel good about doing this in Memory of Emmy, because we feel very strongly that it sucks when a kid dies. It's a terrible, horrible thing for a family to have to go through. So, we support causes that help reduce the childhood death rate; and the fact of the matter is, more kids die from cancer than from other diseases. So, fighting cancer will (hopefully) save kids' lives. I have read all the statistics and I won't bore you with them, but the gist is this. Not very many kids die from illness like Emmy did, anymore (she died from MRSA complicated pneumonia, btw), though 100 years ago they did. As a society we have already worked hard to reduce death from general illness (flu, pneumonia, strep, measles, mumps etc. whether complicated by MRSA or not). Emmy dying from what she did was like "winning" the lottery, the odds were much higher that she would get cancer or be killed in an accident (or even murdered). So in that regard, if our goal, as a family, is to use our limited charity dollars to reduce the number of families that have to suffer the death of a child then we will support those causes, in Emmy's name and memory, that have the greatest chance of impact.
The reason we have chosen childhood cancer is a more personal matter.
Just six weeks before Emmy died another family in our circle of friends suffered the death of their two year old, Tuesday. Tuesday Whitt had been fighting cancer (Neuroblastoma) for 6 months before she passed away; you can read more about Tuesday at http://www.stbaldricks.org/kids/mypage/kidid/2751. While our family was acquainted with the Whitt family, we were not yet friends. However, in the three years since our daughters' deaths we have become so. I would now count them among my dearest and closet friends. And so, we "enjoy" helping them in their fight against pediatric cancer and hope that fewer families have to suffer through the death of a child in the future. The Whitt's attended their first St. Baldrick's event the very same day that Emmy died and the two things have seemed tied together ever since.
Now - how about you help us help the Whitts and St. Baldricks fight childhood cancer. Donate now. Please. Click "Make a donation" to give online, or donate by phone or mail.
