September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Here at STLSportsPage.com we are very supportive of this as our ownership started Rainbows for Kids and we are all volunteers at this charity for families of Children with Cancer.
To find out more about Rainbows for Kids: CLICK HERE
——————-
The Cardinals have joined in bringing awareness to Childhood Cancer and also they are supporting a bone marrow drive first started by the St. Louis Chapter of Baseball Writers of America (BBWAA) in memory and honor of Post-Dispatch Cardinals writer, Joe Straus.
From MLB:
The St. Louis Cardinals, in partnership with MLB and the Starlight Children’s Foundation, will deliver a Virtual Reality Headset and other Cardinals themed goodies to patients at the Mercy Cardinals Kids Cancer Center on September 1st.
Also on September 1, Steven Matz will host a group of families impacted by pediatric cancer and supported through the Jason Motte Foundation for a pregame field visit and meet & greet, as part of his TRU32 Player Ticket Program.
On September 3, the Cardinals will host pediatric cancer patients from Mercy for a pregame field visit. One patient will take part in a ceremony and throw out an honorary pitch in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness month. The team is also hosting #Join4Joe, an annual marrow registry event with Be the Match, in honor of the late Cardinals beat writer, Joe Strauss. The Strauss family will participate in a pregame ceremony to recognize a young cancer patient who is now in remission thanks to a marrow donor.
From Cardinals Press Release:
In 2023 approximately 10,000 children under the age of 15 are projected to receive a cancer diagnosis in the United States. For this reason, the St. Louis Cardinals are helping to raise awareness about childhood cancer through a series of activations that will culminate with September 3’s MLB league-wide Childhood Cancer Awareness Day.
On September 1st, the Cardinals are partnering with MLB and the Starlight Children’s Foundation® to deliver a Virtual Reality Headset to Mercy Cardinals Kids Cancer Center. Following the presentation, Fredbird will visit with patients and handout Cardinals themed goodies. Later that day, prior to the Cardinals game, Steven Matz will host a group of families impacted by pediatric cancer and supported through the Jason Motte Foundation for a pregame field visit and meet & greet, as part of his TRU32 Player Ticket Program.
On September 3rd, a group of pediatric cancer patients from Mercy will take part in a field visit and Isabella Matchell, a 13-year-old undergoing treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma, will throw out a ceremonial pitch. On-field, Childhood Cancer Awareness base jewels and line-up cards will be used and players will wear Childhood Cancer Awareness jersey decals and wristbands. Fans can find more information about how to support this important cause at MLBTogether.com.
Also on September 3rd, the Cardinals will once again partner with the St. Louis Baseball Writers and Be The Match® to host the 8th annual #Join4Joe blood stem cell donor drive to add individuals to the Be The Match Registry and increase the chances of finding a donor match for those awaiting a life-saving blood stem cell transplant. The annual campaign was organized to honor the legacy of Joe Strauss, who covered the Cardinals for 14 years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and passed away in December 2015 at the age of 54 after a courageous battle with leukemia. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer, and approximately 12,000 people need an unrelated donor each year. Leukemia is the leading type of childhood cancer. Reuben Nicholas, a 5-year-old who is recovering from Severe Aplastic Anemia after receiving a marrow transplant from his father earlier this year, will be joined by his parents and the Strauss family for a pregame ceremony and honorary pitch in memory of Joe. The team encourages fans to join the registry by stopping by the #Join4Joe/Be the Match table in Ford Plaza from the time gates open until one hour into the game or by visiting cardinals.com/join4joe for more information.
About Be the Match:
Be The Match® is a global leader working every day to save lives through cellular therapy. For people with life-threatening blood cancers—like leukemia and lymphoma—or other blood disorders like sickle cell, a cure exists. Be The Match connects patients with a matching donor for a life-saving blood stem cell transplant. The Be The Match Registry® is the most diverse registry in the world and includes both adult donors willing to donate to a stranger in need and stored cord blood units. In addition, Be The Match provides patients and their families one-on-one support, education, and guidance before, during and after transplant. Be The Match is also a global leader in research through the CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®)—a collaboration with Medical College of Wisconsin, investing in and managing research studies that improve patient outcomes and advance the future of care.
-
- In 2022, Be The Match impacted 7,054 lives through cellular therapy.
- Every year, 12,000 patients are diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancers or other diseases like sickle cell for which a blood stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope of a cure.
- 70% of patients diagnosed with a treatable disease do not have a fully matched related donor..
- Every search through Be The Match provides patients with access to more than 41 million potential donors in the world.
- Be The Match has impacted more than 125,000 lives since 1987.
MLB Press Release:
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD IS “CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS DAY” IN MLB
On-Field Personnel Will Wear “Gold” to Complement Efforts
By Clubs In Ballparks and With Community Hospitals
For the eighth consecutive year, MLB and its Clubs will raise awareness for childhood cancer for a special league-wide day in home ballparks during all games on Sunday, September 3rd through the MLB Together platform (www.MLBTogether.com). Held during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, this effort will combine a visual and ceremonial demonstration of support for the cause with outreach to local hospitals treating young patients in their communities.
Each year, it is projected that more than 10,000 children younger than 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone, 300,000 globally. MLB Together, in partnership with committed leaders in this cause, is dedicated to eradicating cancer as a disease affecting young people.
On Sunday, September 3rd, all on-field personnel, including players, managers, coaches, and umpires will wear gold ribbon decals and wristbands during all games. Home Clubs also may plan to feature ceremonial activities in their ballparks. Club activations may include youth participation in pregame ceremonies, visits from players and mascots, and other special recognitions. Nonprofit partners for Clubs may include local hospital partners or organizations focused on childhood cancer, such as Stand Up To Cancer, American Cancer Society, and the Starlight Children’s Foundation. Clubs on the road on September 3rd may select another home game to observe Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. *Attached are just a few examples of unique Club activations.*
As an extension of MLB’s longstanding relationship with Starlight Children’s Foundation, 22 Clubs have been selected to receive either a Starlight Virtual Reality headset or a Nintendo Switch handheld, which will be donated to a local children’s cancer hospital, a hospital pediatric cancer care unit, or childhood cancer nonprofit organization. The 22 Clubs include the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Childhood cancer awareness efforts in previous seasons have included special batting practice t-shirts, online campaigns to empower fans to become fundraisers for pediatric cancer research, and donations to local children’s hospitals. MLB and Clubs have supported the fight against cancer through a variety of initiatives for many years. As Stand Up To Cancer’s founding donor, Major League Baseball and its Clubs have pledged more than $50 million to SU2C’s collaborative cancer research programs, providing invaluable support. Launched in 2013, the work of the Stand Up To Cancer – St. Baldrick’s Foundation Pediatric Cancer Dream Team has helped develop new treatments for difficult to treat pediatric leukemias which have been approved by the FDA.
Stand Up To Cancer’s pediatric cancer research is one of the largest segments of the organization’s portfolio, with 31 innovative pediatric cancer research grants, including four of SU2C’s signature “Dream Teams,” and 11 individual awards to early-career Innovative Research Grants, supporting 51 clinical trials with more than 1,300 pediatric patients enrolled. SU2C-funded research has helped support two FDA approvals for new treatments to improve pediatric leukemia patients’ outcomes and minimize side effects. MLB has recognized SU2C at its jewel events since the 2009 World Series.
To find out how you can help children with cancer by supporting Rainbows for Kids and/or attending the charity gala fundraiser Nov. 10, 2023: CLICK HERE
