St. Baldrick’s Foundation Announces Goal to Raise $150K in
One Day for #GivingTuesday

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 25, 2019) – As the holiday season approaches, scoring the best shopping deals and spending time with loved ones is on everyone’s mind. For some families just having one extra holiday hour, minute, and second to spend with their kid is the only thing on their mind. Every 2 minutes a kid is diagnosed with cancer worldwide. In the U.S., 1 in 5 kids diagnosed with cancer will not survive. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is on a mission to DFY childhood cancers by funding the most promising research to find cures and give survivors longer and healthier lives. On Tuesday, Dec. 3 St. Baldrick’s is rallying its supporters to raise $150,000 in one day for childhood cancer research as part of #GivingTuesday.

#GivingTuesday is a day for anyone, anywhere to give back to a cause and issue that matters to them. St. Baldrick’s has set its fundraising goal to $150,000, which will support multiple research projects to find better cures and help survivors live healthier lives.

Aiden Bonner’s family is sharing his story to emphasize why childhood cancer research is so important. Aiden was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a brain tumor, in August 2013 at just five years old. He had a sweet, toothy smile that lit up his face. When that smile started to fade, his mom Erica Bonner, knew something was wrong. After months of headaches and bouts of stumbling, an MRI led to the diagnosis no parent wants to hear: Cancer. Aiden endured 30 rounds of radiation, a clinical trial, high doses of steroids and more drugs to counteract side effects.

When Aiden passed away on January 7, 2015, Erica instantly cherished the memory she had of Aiden celebrating his last Christmas.

“We took Aiden off the steroids and he was so much more himself,” said Erica. “He smiled and laughed and enjoyed it all. I’ll be forever thankful for that day.”

Aiden loved Legos, Boy Scouts, and Star Wars. He loved Star Wars so much that he insisted on being called, “Jedi Aiden.” All kids should have the opportunity to grow up and become a Jedi, an engineer, or whatever they want to become.

“Over the last 20 years, children and parents have shared their childhood cancer journeys with me. Unfortunately, too many of them end the same way, with a child passing away. Life for that family is never the same,” said Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. “St. Baldrick’s refuses to give up on kids with cancer, because long, healthy lives are possible.  With your donations we can fund more research, including clinical trials that will help find cures for all types of childhood cancers.”

In addition to the fundraising goal, St. Baldrick’s partners, Fadó Irish Pub and Wireless Vision, T-Mobile’s largest retail partner, will share the vital need and life changing opportunity to fund lifesaving childhood cancer research with their employees and customers through their social media channels.

This #GivingTuesday, it’s easy to get involved, so that kids like Aiden, and every child with cancer, have better treatment options and a better chance of beating their battle with childhood cancer. Some great ways to get involved include:

• Donating online
• Starting a Facebook Fundraiser
• Using St. Baldrick’s shareable images to spread the word on social media

About St. Baldrick’s Foundation
As the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation believes that kids are special and deserve to be treated that way. St. Baldrick’s is leading the charge to take childhood back from cancer by funding some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts who are working to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. Kids need treatments as unique as they are – and that starts with funding research just for them. Join us at StBaldricks.org to help support the best cancer treatments for kids.

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