In a Matter of Minutes

I promise this will only take a few minutes of your time...

FACT
The National Cancer Institue’s budget for FY 2013 was $4.8* billion.
Most of it went to 10 major types of adult cancers (lung, breast, prostate, colon, etc.)

 

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/NCI/research-funding

FACT
Approximately 4% covered 12 major types of children's cancer

FACT
The US Government spends $435,841,200 per hour (that is $7,264,020 per minute)  http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/us_deficit/us_deficit.html

FACT
4% is about $192 million dollars, so in 26 1/2 minutes of an entire Year (525,600) the money needed to find a cure for kids like yours and mine is spent. When that money is gone, the world depends on parents of children who are on the front lines, who are spending their life savings and more to sell lemonade and shave their heads and run to the White House, to raise even more money for research that has yet to scratch the surface in finding a cure.

Until our government gives us just a few more $minutes$ our kids will continue to suffer and die at the rate of 50 children in all 50 states.

... I hope this doesn't take a lifetime to decide something needs to be done to cure children's cancer, will you give a few minutes to write to congress to make change for our kids in 2014, before all we have with our kids are the last few minutes of their lives?

 

 

Icing on the Cake

Friday the 13th has never been more exciting than it has on National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day 2013! All day I have seen the golden glow of children's faces, as people everywhere come together to create awareness for our kids. Today may have been just another freaky Friday to some, but for kids all around the world who's lives have been terrorized by cancer, there has been celebration and an outpouring of support for children who deserve to see their next birthday.


Speaking of birthday's there are 2 coming up in October that you won't want to miss out on. Last year was a big celebration as my son Lincoln went on his Make-A-Wish trip and met Buzz Light Year on his 4th birthday! I won't say it made me feel old, but less than 2 weeks later that was a different story as I turned 36. I know many people who say they don't need birthday's anymore because they have had so many of them, but after thinking about it for half my life I have finally discovered that the secret to staying young is by giving back twice as much as you received, with each year that you have left.

This year I'm not going to have a surprise birthday party, but I am going to blow out the traditional party ideas by celebrating kids with cancer, who are hoping to blow out their own candles just one more time. To celebrate all of Our Kids in a special event, I want to create awareness by running 13 consecutive days, beginning on my son Lincoln's birthday and ending on mine. To help me in my pursuit for a cure and for the care of all, I will ask for 1300 people to join anywhere and anytime in this 13 day running challenge. You can do this one of many ways by running all 13 days, running a half marathon (13.1 miles) running as many 3.1 (5k's) as possible or walking with 13 friends to help raise awareness. Finally I will be looking to inspire 13 sponsors who will be willing to donate $1000 each to the childhood cancer research "Dream Team" through the efforts of The Truth 365 film and social media campaign.

Now that's what I call Icing on the Cake for #OurKids!

I have created a special facebook event page where you can donate your miles, celebrate kids who are still in the fight, and inspire action in the pursuit for a cure. You can join and invite all of your friends here @  https://www.facebook.com/events/566091380104579/

https://www.facebook.com/events/566091380104579/

Plan of Action

September is in full swing for #OurKids fighting cancer and awareness is on the rise, but "what" we ask is awareness really doing for childhood cancer in 2013? Back in January a petition was signed that was going to turn the White House Gold, or so we thought, but  now we feel the government has turned their backs on our kids and the fire is burning now more than ever. Awareness is something that can take place at anytime of the year, but in the Run for the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness this year, people were doing more than raising awareness, they were literally taking ACTION that would bring a virtual idea into reality. Now that the event is over (for this year) people won't stop running because they know our kids need us now more than ever.

What is awareness and what is action?

Awareness is defined as "knowledge or perception of a situation or fact"

Fact: children get cancer
Fact: people know that children get cancer
Fact: people are aware that children have cancer
Fact: If we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and watch kids die day after day but don't take action, we fail to invest in our own future.

Action is defined as "the fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim"

Do you have a plan of action? If you fail to plan, inevitably your plan will always be failure

Do you want to fail our kids like our government has? Do you think they ever had a Plan to help them overcome cancer?

Here is my plan: DON'T FAIL OUR KIDS!

Time is short and there is so much more on the line, comment here or on my facebook or twitter posts about how you will take Action this September for #OurKids.

Follow Me in a real life action event @ https://www.facebook.com/RunForTheWhiteHouseForChildhoodCancerAwareness 

Run for the White House Finale

Where do I begin to tell you about all of the amazing things that have happened this last week? So many stories of people who have taken a stone of hope from a mountain of despair and created monumental awareness for our cancer kids. With the events happening in our nations capital and the gold rush happening in every state and many countries, childhood cancer awareness is gaining the attention of thousands, soon to be millions of people. So begins the September 2013 edition of Brian's Phirst Blog, dedicated to children like mine fighting for their lives!

Very early this year, only about a month after the Truth 365 film and social media campaign had gone viral, I wanted to do something I have never been able to do for Our Kids, so I went for a jog one chilly January day and let my mind wander as my feet took me down the country back road. I have never really been a runner like my friends Julie, Jerry and Tonya who have helped support our family since my son Lincoln's diagnosis, but I wanted to see if I could run a 5k race, longer than I had ever run since 5th grade. I started dreaming about crossing the country but after a 595 mile drive to Idaho, I could see the challenge would be impossible for me. I asked my running friends if they would contribute miles to the 2844 mile trek in a virtual tour to reach the White House. It didn't take too long for the word to get out and only 7 months later we have over 3500 people who have participated in running a quarter of a million miles for one purpose, to save our kids lives from cancer.

I have been a fan of a just a few reality TV show since they really became big over the last few years and one of my favorites is Survivor, but as the Host of this year long virtual event, I wasn't looking forward to eliminating any of the contestants, but continuing to invite participants to join in running  with me. During the last day of my 50 day challenge to virtually run through all 50 states, I asked people to join me in a run around the DC/VA area. I had three routes planned so people could join in at different times of the day and in an attempt to shorten the final run through the mall Saturday night, those running with me, inspired by our kids, actually increased the miles in an unforgettable evening that lead me to run the total of a full marathon that day. It was the perfecting ending to the 2013 season with the Live Finale of this virtual event right around the corner, following an awareness event of epic proportions.

On Sunday, September 1st, 2013 One event hosted by The Truth 365 and Journey 4 a Cure, brought together 50 organizations, foundations and parents of children who have faced the frontlines of battle at CureFest in Washington DC, to kick off national childhood cancer awareness month near the Washington Monument. This one event called for a unification of many to speak in One Voice to our nations leaders to raise the federal funding levels for pediatric cancers. We heard testimonies from children themselves who were suffering from inoperable and deadly cancers. The event inspired us all to join together and keep our spirits high as we raise awareness in September. Regardless of what we hoped for in a White House lit with golden light bulbs, we committed to keeping the flame within our hearts burning not only through September but 365 days of the year.

Following CureFest we were ready to run to reach our goal. With the vision of our kids in mind we began our run towards the Lincoln Memorial where another visionary once stood with a dream to eliminate inequality for all people seeking freedom. As we climbed the steps I realized that my dream to end the nightmare of childhood cancers was just beginning, but there were bigger and better dreams to be revealed as we faced the darkness time and time again. We turned back to run toward the White House and more people joined along the way. 

The final run gave us all a chance to feel like we had come a long way, and after nearly 7 months we realize we have many more years to go, but until we can all stand together and let the voices of our children be heard, our words will be silenced by those speaking over us. Creating awareness can be something that any of us can do from anywhere at any time, and it is critical to the process that leads to funding, research and ultimately a cure. 

Over the next few months we will plan for the future of the Run for the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness. Knowing we will face long nights ahead, our visions will be lit from a flame that still burns within each one of us. As the sunsets over Washington we have hope in a new day, and when darkness falls we won't let slumber over take us, but from this nightmare we will rise again in 2014. Will you Rise with Us?

Join the movement and check out our White House pictures @ https://www.facebook.com/RunForTheWhiteHouseForChildhoodCancerAwareness