Join us on September 9 for a Virtual Day of action to urge Congress to fund the Childhood Cancer STAR Act for another year! Sign up for the St. Baldrick’s Speak Up for Kids’ Cancer advocacy action network to receive email updates for how to participate.
Every year for nearly a decade, childhood cancer advocates from around the country come to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Alliance for Childhood Cancer’s annual Childhood Cancer Action Days. Action Days brings our community together to advocate for important childhood cancer issues currently before Congress. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our plans for Action Days had to change this year, but we are excited to come together digitally for a Virtual Day of Action on Wednesday, September 9.
The Alliance for Childhood Cancer is a coalition of more than 20 national patient advocacy groups and professional medical and scientific societies, all working together to advocate on behalf of kids with cancer. For the last seven years, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation has served as a co-chair of the Alliance and has spearheaded key policy initiatives championed by the Alliance and its members.
Chief among these accomplishments is the passage of the Childhood Cancer STAR Act – a victory we all can celebrate. The STAR Act, which is the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill ever considered by Congress, was unanimously passed by Congress and signed into law in June 2018. This important bill expands opportunities for childhood cancer research, improves efforts to identify and track childhood cancer incidences and enhances the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors.
Why hold a Virtual Day of Action now?
Getting the STAR Act signed into law was a tremendous accomplishment – but our work to make the STAR Act as effective as possible isn’t over. Every year, we need Congress to fund the programs the STAR Act creates to ensure that these programs are implemented to their fullest potential. For the last two years, Congress has provided these needed resources, which have been instrumental in launching the programs created by the bill and in increasing funding for childhood cancer research at the National Cancer Institute. In fact, thanks to greater awareness and advocacy, and programs like the STAR Act, the federal investment in childhood cancer research has nearly doubled in recent years. We know we still have much more work to do to develop new, safe therapies for kids with cancer, which is why funding the STAR Act for a third straight year is so important.
This past July, the House of Representatives passed a bill that included full funding for the Childhood Cancer STAR Act for a third year. On September 9, right in the middle of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and just three weeks before the end of the federal fiscal year, we will be calling on Congress to finalize this funding so the programs created by the STAR Act can move forward for another year. By raising our voices together through emails to Capitol Hill and social media posts, we will do our part to ensure that our lawmakers know that funding the STAR Act is a top priority for the childhood cancer community.
Want to join us on September 9? Sign up for the St. Baldrick’s Speak Up for Kids’ Cancer advocacy action network and check you inbox on September 9 for information on how to participate!
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