As Pediatric Awareness Month comes to a close, I hope you’ve learned a bit and that something you’ve read might have touched you along the way. Unravel Pediatric Cancer has a slogan for that: “Knowledge is like Glitter…It Sticks With You.” And with that newfound knowledge might come motivation to not just be sorry, but be active and Spread the Glitter! It’s easy to feel sorry about something, but quite another to actually do something to change it! So what can you do to get involved and “Don’t Just Be Sorry, Be Active!”?
There are so many ways!
- You and your kids can hold a lemonade stand or bake sale at your home, work, school or ask to set up in front of popular establishments! We love getting the kids involved and Unravel calls them “Kidvocates”! Unravel has great graphics and printables to help you out.
- Find out if your company offers Charitable Donation Matching.
- Friends in Direct Sales? Ask them to host a party with you where a percent of the sales go to your charity.
- Host a Wine & Paint, Plant night, DIY workshop, or another hands-on event! Venues often give back portions of sales to the charity.
- Think BIG and organize a golf tournament, dinner or another creative fundraising event.
Donate. Donate like your child has cancer. Money should not be what stands in the way of a life-or-death decision when it comes to our children. But please carefully research where you donate your hard-earned money. Did you know that The American Cancer Society only gives 1 cent of every dollar donated to pediatric cancer? Unravel Pediatric Cancer is unique in that they fund INNOVATION. They donate all funds to research for better treatments and hopefully someday a cure. They bridge the gap for scientists when typical grant writing money ties their hands.
“Unravel Pediatric Cancer supports research that investigates the causes and mechanisms of pediatric cancer, helps develop more effective and less toxic treatments, and ultimately leads to a cure. We focus on funding the basic research that provides the foundation for clinical trials.”
The innovation that they fund is working, it’s all really exciting! Libby Kranz and Unravel were recently featured in this news story about a breakthrough because of the work Unravel and people like you are funding: Bay Area Proud. Read more about what Unravel funds here.
In 2014 I had the honor of bringing Jennifer’s story and an Unravel presence to San Diego. We hosted our first Mama’s Night Out, dedicated to spreading their message and supporting the local “Warrior Mamas” within our community facing their own battles.
Since then, Unravel San Diego has seen over 600 women attend our events and raised around $100,000 right into the hands of some amazing scientists and doctors. Because pediatric cancer is no fun, but fighting it can be!
This November we are hosting our very first co-ed event, Unravel The Night at the beautiful Downtown Library. Your evening out with friends can make a world of difference! We offer attendees free wine, beer, food, and dessert all night long – all donated by numerous local businesses. There is a raffle, silent and live auction, casino-style gaming fun and an emotional but fascinating presentation by our founders, Jennifer’s parents Libby and Tony Kranz as well as special guest speaker Dr. Nicholas Vitanza, Attending Physician, Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Seattle Children’s and Fred Hutch research lab.
We also select one local cancer family to honor at the event and donate a portion of the proceeds to them – this brings a very special connection to our community. This year we will honor Kira Stanley of Encinitas, a 16-year-old girl fighting DIPG – the same incurable, untreatable brain tumor that Jennifer had. We hope you will join us on Saturday, November 17 – tickets go on sale October 5! Get yours here: http://unravelthenight.auction-bid.org/
Until there is a cure…….
To learn more about Unravel please visit our website www.unravelpediatriccancer.org
To learn more about San Diego Events, visit our event page https://unravelpediatriccancer.org/blog/tag/eventssan-diego/
To chat, find out more, donate or get involved, email me at Jennifer.mnosd@gmail.com
