Eat For A Cause!

Hey guys! My Childhood Cancer Awareness post is a bit late this year, and I apologize. For those of you who don't know, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. I have had the privilege of knowing and loving several children who have been affected by this terrible disease, and I continue to keep up with the blogs and websites of even more children and families who I have never met. Most years, these websites have a lot of information about Chili's (restaurant) fundraising efforts and other organizations who are actively raising money for better treatments and cures. This year, however, I am seeing less information about these great organizations and more information about the surprising numbers of children and families who are affected by childhood cancer. Did you know:

*46 kids are diagnosed every day with cancer.
*9 kids die every day from cancer or complications from treatment.
* Only 3% of government funded cancer research goes to pediatrics.

(taken from www.victoryforvictoria.blogspot.com)

I keep a year-round list on the sidebar of worthy charities that you could get involved in, if you are moved to do so. If you're short on time and/or money these days, there is one simple thing you can do to raise awareness AND money to battle this horrible illness. Take your family out to eat next Monday night!! That's right - on Monday, September 27, Chili's will be donating ALL of its profits to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Your children will have a chance to color a chili pepper, and for a donation as small as $1, Chili's will proudly display your child's artwork in the restaurant. We colored a pepper tonight in memory of our sweet friend, Victoria, who died of brain cancer at age 8.

As I do every year, I invite anyone who is local (or willing to travel :) to eat dinner with our family at Chili's next Monday. E-mail or Facebook me for more details!