“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Arvin was diagnosed with cancer when he just turned 2 months old. He is turning 7 months old. He is the happiest baby I’ve ever known despite the battle he is going through. Keep fighting baby! My son, My hero!” – Nini N.
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Arvin was diagnosed with cancer when he just turned 2 months old. He is turning 7 months old. He is the happiest baby I’ve ever known despite the battle he is going through. Keep fighting baby! My son, My hero!” – Nini N.
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Arvin was diagnosed with cancer when he just turned 2 months old. He is turning 7 months old. He is the happiest baby I’ve ever known despite the battle he is going through. Keep fighting baby! My son, My hero!” – Nini N.
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Marc is a 14 year old boy whose sister passed from childhood cancer. At his young age he has done many thing to bring awareness and also hope for people battling this disease. Along with his mother they have started a non -profit organization to fund college tuitions and planned many memorial and tributes for the loved ones lost.” – Kelsey K.
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: When Owenn was born he was not breathing the cord was around his neck and the doctor had to give him chest compressions to get him breathing on his own. At the age of 1 1/2 we found out Owenn had cataracts. He he had 2 different surgeries to get rid of the cataracts and get a lens transplant. We currently go to his eye doctor 3 hours away from home every 3-4 months to check his eyes. At the age of 4 Owenn began running fevers off and on for 3 weeks. Loss of appetite,complaining about joint pain,and just sleeping a lot more. We knew it wasn’t Owenn. That’s when we found out that Owenn had ALL. He will undergo chemo for the next 3 years. The name Owenn means young fighter and that’s what Owenn is a young fighter. He truly is my hero” – Jennifer B.
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Skylar was diagnosed with high risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on 7/30/2013 @ 14 months of age. She finished her last. Chemotherapy medicine on 12/27/2015. She is our little hero.” – Deborah J
On February 15, the ACCO and childhood cancer organizations around the world will come together to highlight the critical importance of bringing hope to the millions of children whose lives have been changed forever by childhood cancer. We hope that you will join together with ACCO on this important day to show your support for these children and their families, in the United States and around the world, and to add your voice to the growing chorus demanding that childhood cancer become a national and international child health priority! We invite you to purchase one (or more!) of the 2016 ICCD awareness t-shirts and wear it proudly on February 15 to show that you, too, honor these brave children and their families.
CLICK HERE TO REVIEW THE LIST AND PURCHASE A SHIRT
Once again, we are overwhelmed with the incredible support our ICCD awareness shirt campaign has garnered. This year’s shirts feature the names of more than 4,000 brave childhood cancer warriors! We received so many names that we could not include them in one t-shirt, so we designed three different shirts to ensure that we included them all. The names are listed in alphabetical order by last name. Those children honored only with their first name are listed in alphabetical order by first name on the third shirt.
While we will continue to edit and update the list on a daily basis until January 15, the names fall into the following breakdown:
SHIRT 1: Last names Aagard – Gray
SHIRT 2: Last names Gray – Ontiveros
SHIRT 3: Last names Ordaz – Zumberge
The deadline for ordering shirts is quickly approaching; shirts will be available for purchase until midnight EST on January 22, 2016. Our goal is to ensure that shirts are delivered within two weeks so that they can be worn on ICCD to help commemorate this special and important international awareness event!
International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is an opportunity for the world to come together to raise awareness about childhood cancer and the terrible toll it continues to take on children and families around the world. It is an opportunity to show support for childhood cancer warriors and survivors around the world and their families, as well as to honor the memories of those children whose young lives have been cut short all too soon by childhood cancer. The goal of ICCD is to spotlight the continued challenges faced by children in high- and middle-income countries where treatment for childhood cancer remains dependent on toxic drugs invented decades ago to fight adult cancers, all-too-often leaving survivors facing long-term health concerns. This day also highlights the growing childhood cancer crisis in low-income countries, where most children do not even have access to effective medical care, basic cancer treatments, or sometimes even a diagnosis.
The American Childhood Cancer Organization is the sole U.S. voice in Childhood Cancer International (CCI, formerly the International Confederation of Childhood Cancer Parent Organizations), an international network of 180 grassroots childhood cancer organizations across 90 countries and 5 continents and the voice behind International Childhood Cancer Day. Like ACCO, CCI is premised on the belief that even one death from childhood cancer is too many, and that lawmakers, scientists, industry and advocates around the world must come together to create new and better treatments for childhood cancer and ensure that all children have equal access to those treatments. Therefore, ACCO is proud to join with and promote this international movement to raise awareness about childhood cancer, to add the strength of American voices to the international call for a world where no child dies from childhood cancer ever again.
We encourage you to join with us on February 15th to wear your 2016 ICCD Awareness Shirt and honor the many, many children here and around the world facing this devastating disease. As always, we thank you for your support!
The American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) is a non-profit charity dedicated to helping kids with cancer and their families navigate the difficult journey from cancer diagnosis through survivorship and bereavement. At the national level, the ACCO promotes the critical importance of ensuring continued funding into new and better treatment protocols for childhood cancer. At the grassroots level, the ACCO is focused on the children: developing and providing educational tools for families and learning resources for children in order to empower them with knowledge about their cancer treatment decisions. All of our resources are available free of charge for families in the U.S. coping with childhood cancer.
For additional information on our resources or information on how to obtain our resources free of charge, please visit our website at www.acco.org.
For more information about the American Childhood Cancer Organization and how we can help, call 855.858.2226 or visit:
Want To Read American Childhood Cancer Organization On Your Phone? Click the NoteStream logo: 
New ACCO Board Member Mr. Ken Wegner, President of Jel Sert
The American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) is very pleased to introduce as its newest Board Member Mr. Ken Wegner, President of the Jel Sert Company and father of a childhood cancer survivor. Mr. Wegner is the grandson of Jel Sert founders Charles and Lillian Wegner, and has worked at Jel Sert since 1985, first as Director of Purchasing and then as President since 1997, although he notes that his employment at Jel Sert really began right from childhood, when he and other children in the family would help suggest, and test, new products and flavors! A graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio, Mr. Wegner has a long and noted history of charitable and philanthropic endeavors, including serving as Chairman of the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation Board, a board member at the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, and membership in WPO – Chicago.
Mr. Wegner’s partnership with ACCO began in 2008 with the introduction of two incredibly important programs in support of childhood cancer awareness. First, Jel Sert began proudly displaying the gold ribbon, the internationally-recognized awareness symbol for childhood cancer, as well as information about ACCO on their Fla-Vor-Ice freezer pops. Jel Sert’s support for the Gold Ribbons for Childhood Cancer Awareness now extends to many more of their packaging, including Otter Pops and Pop-Ice. Second, Jel Sert founded the Take a Pop, Share a Smile program. Recognizing that freezer pops play a critical role in easing the pain of mouth sores, keeping children hydrated, and alleviating many other negative side effects of cancer treatment, Jel Sert generously donates freezers and a continuous supply of freezer pops to more than 115 childhood cancer treatment centers across the United States. Jel Sert’s ongoing partnership with the ACCO and support of the ACCO’s mission to raise awareness about this disease became personal for Mr. Wegner when his teenage son was diagnosed with cancer in 2011.
Since its founding by the Wegner family in 1926, Jel Sert has been a family-owned company located in West Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Wegner continues his grandparents’ commitment to offering innovative, high quality, and great tasting food products, following the guiding principles of quality, flavor, fun, and value instituted by Charles Wegner back in 1926. Jel Sert’s products currently include freezer bars, dessert mixes, powdered drink mixes, and ready-to-drink beverages. Jel Sert’s nationally-recognized brand names include, among others, Wyler’s, Wyler’s Light, Pop- Ice, Flavor-Aid, Fla-Vor-Ice, Royal, My*T*Fine, Otter Pops, and Mondo.
Today, Jel Sert employs more than 1,000 employees in US-based manufacturing plants that continue Jel Sert’s commitment to maintaining the highest possible quality standards, meeting the standards set by the US Food and Drug Administration for manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry. Incorporating these industry standards into its manufacturing practices has enabled Jel Sert to produce pharmaceutical-grade products such as Pedia Care Pops for Pfizer and Pedialyte for Abbott Labs. Jel Sert’s consist commitment to quality and innovation have enabled it to compete nationally with significantly larger food manufacturers; its products are currently distributed to more than 60,000 retail outlets across the country!
We appreciate Mr. Wegner’s and Jel Sert’s ongoing support of the ACCO and the childhood cancer community, and look forward to working closely with Mr. Wegner as we continue to pursue and develop the ACCO’s mission to build awareness about childhood cancer and the needs of families who are facing or who have faced this terrible disease.
The American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) is a non-profit charity dedicated to helping kids with cancer and their families navigate the difficult journey from cancer diagnosis through survivorship and bereavement. At the national level, the ACCO promotes the critical importance of ensuring continued funding into new and better treatment protocols for childhood cancer. At the grassroots level, the ACCO is focused on the children: developing and providing educational tools for families and learning resources for children in order to make the lives of children and their families a bit easier and perhaps even brighter during this difficult time. Many of our resources are available free of charge for families coping with childhood cancer.
For additional information on our resources or information on how to obtain our resources free of charge, please visit our website at www.acco.org.
For more information about the American Childhood Cancer Organization and how we can help, call 855.858.2226 or visit:
Want To Read American Childhood Cancer Organization On Your Phone? Click the NoteStream logo:
“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Kayleigh is my 9 year old daughter. She is a very special little girl who has touched many lives. When Kayleigh was just 3 years old she was diagnosed with stage IV high risk neuroblastoma. She went through several surgeries, 6 rounds of chemotherapy, 12 days of spot radiation to the original tumor site (left adrenal gland), a stem cell rescue (like a bone marrow transplant but with your own cells), and a study treatment which included accutane pills, ch14.18, and IL2 injections. Kayleigh never had any major long lasting set backs. She did get really sick from the ch14.18 causing her blood pressure to go into the teens. She ended up in the PICU but was only there for a couple days. Her nurses said they had never seen a child bounce back so fast after coming out of PICU. She was diagnosed is August of 2009, and by February of 2010 she was already declared NED. Today, Kayleigh is 5 years cancer free as well as 5 years out of treatment. She is officially a survivor and has been moved to the long term survivor clinic. During her battle with childhood cancer, her story reached thousands of people from all over the world. I can remember the volunteers bringing in stacks of cards every single day. She received cards from nearly all 50 states as well as several countries (Iran, Jordan, Scottland, England, Germany, France, Canada, Mexico, and several others). I still have the cards and the binder that holds them is almost too heavy to pick up. I want to nominate my daughter because she proved the statistics wrong. Her odds of survival were slim to none and to look at her today you would never know aside from a few things (scars, hearing aides, thin hair). She has the most upbeat personality and always has a smile on her face. She has been through so much and has never once let it get her down. She is a true fighter and she will always be my hero!” – Valerie H.
