We all know what the pink ribbon stands for but do you have any idea what color ribbon represents childhood cancer? It's GOLD. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and it would be a dream-come-true to see cars and shirts emblazoned with gold ribbons all over the world.
Yes, KIDS GET CANCER! Each year, more than 12,500 children are diagnosed with some form of cancer. That's nearly two classrooms full of kids EVERY DAY! Kinda makes your head spin, doesn't it?
How many of you have seen St. Jude programs on TV and changed the channel because they're "just too painful" to watch? You're certainly not alone. I've been working as a cancer-support volunteer for 7 years now and my own friends and family ask me how I can visit the websites of sick kids and send them mail every day. "Isn't it depressing?" "Don't you get upset?" Yes, it's depressing. Yeah, I absolutely get upset. I cry almost every day. But you know what? I smile a hell of a lot too. Following the journeys of these amazing kids has inspired me to be a better person. Just knowing that the care package I sent took a child's mind off their illness for a fraction of a second is a pretty incredible feeling. But I don't do it for me.
Most of us know (or know of) a child who has been stricken with cancer. Maybe it's the little girl down the street. Or that sweet boy who used to deliver your paper. Your friend's daughter. A fellow church member. Your boss' son. Your cousin. Your niece. Your grandson. Many of us have shed tears over the news of a young cancer warrior's passing, whether we knew and loved the child or simply read about him in the paper. Cancer has touched each and every one of our lives.
My point? Cancer is running rampant and NO family is immune. Cancer is not selective. Cancer doesn't care if your little boy is getting ready for his first day of kindergarten. Or if your daughter was just asked to prom by the coolest guy in school. Cancer is blind to the fact that you don't have health insurance or your your husband/wife just lost his/her job. Cancer doesn't ask permission before it uproots your life, threatens your marriage, devastates your finances, tortures your child...cancer just doesn't care.
PLEASE, I beg of you, do something to honor these young heroes this month. Donate blood. Wear a gold ribbon. Join the National Marrow Registry. Make a donation to cancer research. Spread awareness. Support a cancer organization. Run a 5k. Walk a 5k. Send a pizza to (or make dinner for) a family who is living with cancer. Offer to babysit the siblings of a sick child or take them out for a day of fun. Volunteer at your local Ronald McDonald House (cooking a meal, donating pantry items, etc.) Buy a t-shirt that raises funds for cancer. Sit down with your children and draw colorful pictures and drop them off at your local children's hospital. Buy a glass of lemonade at a lemonade stand that supports childhood cancer. Hold your own lemonade stand. Send a card. Hug a cancer mom. Make eye contact and smile at that bald in Target. Pray. Pray again. And when you're too tired to pray, pray a little more. (See links>>>>>)
Just do SOMETHING.
Doing Something = Big Smile. See?
