Special to The Message
Again this year, the Reitz Memorial High School Community is “Going Gold” in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Reitz Memorial’s Sept. 6 home football game against North High School is the Seventh Annual SamStrong Childhood Cancer Awareness football game. Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke has also proclaimed Sept. 6 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Day in Evansville.
SamStrong carries on the final mission of 2012 Reitz Memorial graduate Sam Featherstone to raise awareness of childhood cancer and money for much-needed research. Sam, a life-long member of St. John the Baptist Parish in Newburgh, died Jan. 2, 2013, after battling brain cancer for over three years.
Everyone attending the Sept. 6 game is encouraged to wear gold, the color representing childhood cancer, to show their support of this important
awareness event. Gold SamStrong Tshirts, featuring the powerful message of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” printed with one of Sam’s drawings showing the strength needed to fight cancer, will be available for purchase at the game or can be ordered at www.samstrong.org. Short-sleeve shirts are $10, and long-sleeve are $15. Order forms and donations can be sent to SamStrong, P.O. Box 252, Newburgh, IN 47629-0252.
All of the money raised by SamStrong is used only for pediatric cancer research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. If you would like to learn more about Sam, SamStrong, or childhood cancer, please visit www.samstrong.org.
Before age 20, one in 285 young people will receive a cancer diagnosis. Cancer kills more kids than all other diseases combined. Every day, 46 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer; and every day, seven children die from cancer.