We are still in our first year of the Olivia Caldwell Foundation, and this September holds our first ever “Carnival for a Cure.” It is going to be a big fundraising event for pediatric brain cancer research and promises to be a lot of fun for everyone who takes the time to volunteer and attend.

The “Carnival for a Cure” will be held on Saturday, September 13th at the Carbon County Fairgrounds in Rawlins, WY. The carnival will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will feature nearly 30 different games and activities for kids of all ages. It will also include a beauty pageant for boys and girls ages 0-17, food vendors and a petting zoo. Then after the fun of the day is over, we will also have an evening concert by Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers band at 7:30 p.m. at the Carbon County Fairgrounds grandstand.

This annual carnival will be our biggest fundraising event of each year, and we need a lot of help to pull it off and make our fundraising goal. You can help us by becoming a business or individual sponsor, donating your time or materials, donating silent auction items, and helping us with set up, tear down and working the day of the event. Plus you help us just by spreading the word, attending our carnival, and spending your hard earned money!

So why is this important? Each year cancer kills more children between 1 and 20 years of age than asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and AIDS, combined. And brain cancer is the second most common form of childhood cancer and the deadliest. Three of the 7 children that die each day in the U.S. from cancer have brain cancer. But despite these facts, childhood cancer remains severely underfunded, only receiving a measly 3.9% of the total budget from the National Cancer Institute.

What can you do? You can help us make this fundraising event a success! All of the money we make goes straight to the life-saving research being performed by our neuro-oncology research team at Children’s Hospital Colorado. So please take the time to become a sponsor. Even the smallest amount helps! Or donate your time as a volunteer. Or buy tickets to our concert and the carnival. Please contact us today. You can learn more and get in touch with us at www.oliviacaldwellfoundation.org or by emailing katie@oliviacaldwellfoundation.org.