Ashley Piltz, a high school sophomore at Leadership Prep School in Frisco, is an example of how childhood cancer can change your life. But she’s also a great example of how a kid can make a difference for other kids fighting cancer by organizing a Coins for Kids with Cancer campaign, benefiting TeamConnor Childhood Cancer Foundation.
Ashley was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in 2007 at the age of three. After enduring multiple forms of chemotherapy, weekly spinal taps, bone marrow evaluations and hair loss, her cancer went into remission in January, 2012. This year Ashley and Leadership Prep raised a record $16,000 for the Coins for Kids with Cancer program. Since 2015, her school, Leadership Prep, has helped Piltz raise over $36,000 with the Coins for Kids with Cancer program benefiting TeamConnor Childhood Cancer Foundation. Ashley was featured in a 2014 TeamConnor video to help raise awareness about the program.
"As a childhood cancer survivor, I personally understand the impact TeamConnor is making for kids with cancer,” said Ashley Piltz. “I am grateful TeamConnor continues to raise funds to help other kids who are still fighting cancer today. I love that Leadership Prep continues to fundraise for TeamConnor year after year. Making a difference now will make a direct impact to the future of other children’s lives.”
Coins for Kids with Cancer is a national fundraising program to support research on childhood cancers. The program shows how collecting spare change can have a huge impact in the battle against childhood cancer.
Little is known about what causes each of the various types of childhood cancers. Research has not yet unlocked the mystery of why certain children develop cancers and others do not. Every coin collected through the Coins for Kids with Cancer program impacts research for less intrusive treatments and ultimately finding cures for the many types of childhood cancers. The average cost to be enrolled in a clinical trial is $2500 per child for care and medicine.
TeamConnor hosts several events throughout the year to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer research, including Smashing Childhood Cancer, January 25, 2020, and the 16th Annual III Forks Golf Classic, May 3 - 4, 2020. Contact Lindsay Cleland at lcleland@teamconnor.org for sponsorship opportunities for these upcoming events.
To date, TeamConnor has donated nearly $3 million for research across the country. Every year, approximately 250,000+ new cases of cancer affect children under the age of 20 worldwide. Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer of children; yet the budget of the National Cancer Institute allocates less than four percent of its funds to pediatric cancer research. TeamConnor Childhood Cancer Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness and funding research and treatment programs to find a cure for all childhood cancers.
For more information on how to join the fight against childhood cancer, please visit teamconnor.org or follow TeamConnor on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.