Gold ribbons up for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

HALEYVILLE - For those driving through Haleyville wondering what the reason is for all the gold ribbons and bows hanging around town, it’s a very important reason.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and South Haleyville Church of Christ is once again spearheading the effort to support local children and their families dealing with the battle against childhood cancers.  The disease has affected several children and their families locally in recent years, which helped lead the church to start the effort to put up the ribbons around town to let these families know they are not alone in their battle.
According to church members, they have collected more money this year to create more bows.
“We can get 16-21 bows out of a roll of ribbon, and we have used eight rolls so far this year,”  Diane Orman noted.
The church also has placed signs around town explaining the significance of the ribbons, along with placing ribbons on all the lampposts in downtown Haleyville.  They are asking all residents, churches, businesses and others to place ribbons on their doors, trees, lampposts, etc., to help show a sign of support for children and their families battling this terrible disease.
According to the American Childhood Cancer Organization, cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children in the United States.  Approximately 1 in every 285 children in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday, an estimated 15,780 children each year.  Of these children, 20 percent will not survive and for the ones who do survive, two-thirds experience at least one serious side effect, including heart damage, lung damage, infertility, chronic hepatitis, alterations in growth and development or impaired cognitive abilities.
For more information on childhood cancer and how to donate toward research to end this disease, visit www.acco.org or nationalpcf.org.


See complete story in the Northwest Alabamian.
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