
Since 2007, when Brent and Christie VanWey’s daughter Mikayla, now 6, was diagnosed with leukemia, the couple has done all they can to help their daughter fight her battle with cancer. They’ve also reached beyond their family to help support other families and children fighting childhood cancer.Last year they started a local chapter of Flashes of Hope – a national nonprofit organization that captures photos of children fighting cancer to create powerful, uplifting portraits – and have partnered with Dance Marathon and The Heart Connection Children’s Cancer Camps to take photos of more than 400 Iowa children affected by cancer in the last two years. They also help facilitate a support group for families dealing with childhood cancer.
Even when Mikalya finished her treatments earlier this summer, the VanWeys didn’t slow down their efforts. Recently, they teamed up with four other families (all living in the Des Moines area) to make the state of Iowa-namely Iowa and Iowa State fans-take notice of childhood cancer during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day, September 12.
This year, that happens to also be the day the Hawkeyes take on the Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames for the annual intrastate football rivalry. And, thanks to the VanWeys and other Iowa families, the message of “Beat Cancer Today,” an initiative to raise awareness of and funds for childhood cancer, will reach the thousands of fans flooding the stadium.
Players and coaching staff will wear gold ribbons (symbolizing childhood cancer). Childhood cancer survivors and those currently fighting the disease will have photo opportunities with the players after the game. Plus, tickets and parking spots have been donated to cancer families. Announcements and media promotions about childhood cancer awareness will even be broadcast before, during and after the game.
“There are many ways the universities have supported this effort,” Brent VanWey says. “They really put the focus on the cancer families.”
But that’s not all. In order to raise funds for research, the group came up with the idea to sell “Beat Cancer” shirts (in the tradition of the “Beat State” rivalry garb) to fans. Hawk fans can get a black and gold “Beat Cancer” shirt, while Cyclone fans can sport crimson and gold.
All proceeds from shirts sales go to CureSearch, the leading childhood cancer research organization. (Find out more at www.curesearch.org) CureSearch funds the Children’s Oncology Group – of which both the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital and Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines are a part of.
The group has been contacted by a whole slew of other colleges and universities that want to get involved and have “Beat Cancer” shirts in their school colors, including Drake University, University of Northern Iowa, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Grandview College to name a few.
“We really didn’t know where we wanted this thing to go, but this is where it’s going on its own,” Brent says “This year is bigger than what we expected and we feel like we’re actually making a difference.”
His ultimate goal is for all college football teams playing on the second Saturday of September (designated by Congress in 2008 as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day) to have a gold ribbon on their helmet in honor of childhood cancer and to sell “Beat Cancer” shirts nationwide.
“Perhaps then people everywhere will understand what this childhood cancer thing is all about. But right now, we are just trying to get through September, 12 (of this year),” he says.
Brent admits the group had no idea this effort, literally started by five families between Eastern and Central Iowa, would rally thousands of other supporters. (Their fan site on Facebook now has more than 1,600 members.)
“We thought, ‘what are we gonna do if we sell 200 shirts? 500 shirts?’” VanWey says. “This thing, it absolutely exploded. We’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg.”
To date, the group has sold more than 3,000 shirts (and counting.)
That’s what we call showing some real team spirit.
– KATIE
DID YOU KNOW?
Each year, more than 12,500 children and teens will be diagnosed with cancer. That’s the equivalent of two classrooms a day.
WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR YOU
Want to be part of the battle? Visit www.BeatCancerToday.org to get your shirt and support the fight to cure childhood cancer.