Push

All,

As you know, this is our third September to post regarding Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. This year, we find ourselves in the final few days of the month with a new and urgent plea: We need you to vote in the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project.

Let us explain: Pepsi has launched their Refresh Everything Project, where they are giving grants--in this case $250,000--to the top two vote-getting proposals. Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation is a Neuroblastoma-specific charity that is currently sitting in 3rd place in the contest. Arms Wide Open has pledged to donate the full grant to fast-track promising cancer therapies currently being developed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Sloan Kettering is arguably the premier Neuroblastoma hospital in the world and they have been instrumental in devising many aspects of treatment that are in use today. A $250,000 grant in the world of a rare pediatric cancer would have a tremendous impact and translate into actual trials and potential treatments.

For us, the potential of this grant takes on added significance as we approach Andrew's re-scan. Strangely enough, it is scheduled for Thursday, September 30, which is also the last day to vote in the contest. While Andrew has not been treated at Sloan Kettering and we pray that he never is, the fact is that it is likely where we would find ourselves, in the event that we were dealing with a relapse. Clearly, part of our motivation here is selfish.

Just to reiterate, the contest ends at the end of the month, so this is our final push. How fitting would it be if a pediatric cancer cause actually won this event during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month? Said another way, what would that say if it didn't? If we can prevail upon you to please vote as many times as possible, we would be so grateful. The link is as follows:

www.refresheverything.com/armswideopenchildhoodcancerfoundation

You have to complete a one-time registration to vote through the site. You can also vote via text (102653 to PEPSI (73774)) and via Facebook app. In fact, you are allowed to vote using each method one time per day. Please use all three and please spread the word to any friends, families, groups, offices, churches, schools, etc. that you may hold sway over.

Please keep Andrew in your thoughts and prayers this week as we go in Thursday hoping for some good, clean, benign resolution to his liver spot. Thank you, as always, for your support.

Paul & Cynthia