For the ninth year in a row, all 30 Major League Baseball teams will raise awareness for childhood cancer in all ballparks during all games on Sunday.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and MLB Together continues its community-based demonstrations of support for the cancer awareness among children, including outreach to local hospitals treating childhood patients.
According to the organization, all on-field personnel, including players, managers, coaches, and umpires will wear gold ribbon decals and wristbands during all games. Additionally, commemorative base jewels and line up cards will be featured on the day.
Advertisement
Club activations may include youth participation in pregame ceremonies, visits from players, mascots and other special recognitions. Nonprofit partners for Clubs may include partnering with local hospital or organizations focused on cancer among children such as Stand Up To Cancer, American Cancer Society, and Starlight Children’s Foundation.
As an extension of MLB’s relationship with Starlight Children’s Foundation, all 30 Clubs will be receiving either a Nintendo Switch Handheld or a Virtual Reality headset, which will be donated to a local children’s hospital, hospital pediatric cancer care unit or a pediatric cancer nonprofit organization. To learn more, visit www.mlbtogether.com/childhood-cancer-awareness-day and www.starlight.org/mlb.
This year, approximately 10,000 children under the age of 15 are expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in the United States. Across all demographics, this disease is the second-leading cause of death by disease in children ages 1-14. MLB, alongside other committed community leaders in this cause, are dedicated to lessening the statistics of cancer as a disease affecting young people.
Some of the most common types of childhood cancer include leukemia, brain tumors, central nervous system tumors, and malignant epithelial neoplasms and lymphomas. Over the past 50 years, cancer researchers have helped to develop treatments that have greatly changed the lives of patients with a pediatric cancer diagnosis. The five year survival rate for childhood cancer is now 85% (compared to 58% in the mid-1970’s).