Recently, I attended an event where every single person raised their hands because they knew someone that had been affected by cancer. An even more heartbreaking fact is that there are so many children that have been diagnosed with cancer. In fact, approximately 1 in 285 will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20. I can’t even begin to imagine the overwhelming worries that would come with your child being diagnosed. Thankfully, if your child is diagnosed with cancer, you can reach out to The National Children’s Cancer Society for help.
The National Children’s Cancer Society (NCCS), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a not-for-profit organization providing support to families making their way through the daunting world of childhood cancer and survivorship. With over 30 years of experience serving more than 43,000 children, the NCCS is able to take a “no matter what” approach to help families stay strong, stay positive and stay together.
I recently attended An Evening with the Cardinals here in St. Louis and it was such a special night. This was the 7th year for the event and we were treated to dinner, a silent (and live!) auction in addition to hearing from Cardinals Hall of Famers Jim Edmonds and Chris Carpenter. The emcee of the evening was the voice of the Cardinals, Dan McLaughlin. Before the night even began, we got to check out all of the items that were available for the silent auction – there were some amazing items like an autographed Yadier Molina Chest Protector to the chance to have Fredbird attend your next party. To kick off the night, there was a live auction for items like the “Albert Pujols Returns to St. Louis” package which included 4 on-field passes for batting practice, 4 field box seats and 4 passes to the Fox Sports Midwest broadcasting booth to meet Dan McLaughlin. Even more amazing to watch, when the bidding reached $2,700, McLaughlin then promised it to 2 other bidders if they would also pay $2,700. It was so fun to see that much money being raised for the NCCS (you can watch video of it over in my Instagram stories of the night!).
Before Chris Carpenter and Jim Edmonds came on stage, Dan McLaughlin had helped to raise $100,000 – this was before the silent auction items were added up! This was such an amazing thing to see in person and I love knowing how much this evening is helping kids with cancer thanks to the National Children’s Cancer Society. Then we got to hear from these 2 Cardinals Hall of Famers. I brought my mom with me who is a huge Cardinals fan but even if you’re not a Cardinals fan, it was a fun and entertaining night! We really enjoyed hearing the stories from them.
It was such a heartwarming night – I laughed and I cried! We all watched a video featuring eight-year-old Rhyan Loos who is a survivor of neuroblastoma. She and her family have been beneficiaries of the services provided by The National Children’s Cancer Society and we got to hear from her parents how much the NCCS helped them during this very important fight. I’m so thankful for the NCCS. They are helping families with everything from financial assistance, information and support both during and after treatment and even a college scholarship program for childhood cancer survivors.
If you’re looking to help the National Children’s Cancer Society, there are a few different ways. You can attend an event (like the annual An Evening with the Cardinals), directly donate, start an online fundraiser and so many other ways! Please make sure to check out the National Children’s Cancer Society website and also like the NCCS Facebook page for the latest updates.
Disclosure: I received 2 tickets to An Evening with the Cardinals. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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