Kindergarten Students to Display Pinwheels And Fight Back Against Childhood Cancer

GREENPORT, NY — Even the tiniest children can take a huge stand in the fight against childhood cancer.

At the Greenport Union Free School District on Friday, kindergarten students will display 43 gold pinwheels on the lawn outside, coming together to raise awareness about a disease that leaves no one untouched, even children in their own school.

The event is meant to mark the fact that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

"We have students who have battled cancer and are survivors," said Jillian Johnstone, a social worker in the Greenport school district. "We just wanted to take time to give our support to those families and students who have had such a hard time."

Currently, there is a kindergarten student in the district battling cancer, according to Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard, who said the pinwheels are a great way for children to come together and help.

The pinwheels, which the children have made and will place outside at 2 p.m. on Friday, will be gold. "It's appropriate because the school colors are purple and gold," Johnstone said.

The day will shine a light on caring and compassion, she said. "It's so important for little kids, young children to make that connection, as far as awareness and being supportive of their classmates. They're joining that student in their fight."

A flyer will go home to parents in the districts explaining that it's Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, asking students to wear yellow or gold; there will gold ribbons at the school to be worn, too, she said.

"The whole point of this was that it would be an exciting, and very supportive, loving event," Johnstone said. Even though children are young, "they can still be a friend" to a classmate facing cancer. Students, she added, can show "compassion and empathy. Starting that at a young age is extremely important."

Holly Lanzetta, whose son Sam is in kindergarten in the Greenport school district, has been working to raise awareness about childhood cancer; she organized a“Shave-A-Thon” in March, where Lanzetta and others shaved their heads to raise funding for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Lanzetta and her son also attended the Relay for Life event in Peconic in June.

Raising awareness about childhood cancer is critical, Lanzetta said; during September, a sea of events are planned, with the hashtag #gogold a symbol for childhood cancer awareness. Times Square was lit up gold recently, and the Yankees will soon mark the month, as well, she said.

Seeing the gold ribbon, and events such as Friday's gold pinwheel ceremony, Lanzetta said, sends a heartening message to her son and to other children battling cancer.

"It honors the fight that we face," she said.

And it's a battle that needs funding for life-saving research, Lanzetta said. According to the "I Care, I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation", 36 children are diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States. Yet, only four percent of National Cancer Institute's budget is spent on childhood cancer research, the site says.

Childhood cancer has lifelong impacts and health consequences, Lanzetta added.

The gold ribbons mean everything, she said, to those waging the war against the disease.

"The more gold ribbons we see, the more support we feel," she said.

According to the American Childhood Cancer Organization, "families, caregivers, charities and research groups across the United States observe September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. In the U.S., 15,780 children under the age of 21 are diagnosed with cancer every year; approximately 1/4 of them will not survive the disease. A diagnosis turns the lives of the entire family upside down."

The goal of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the site says, is to shine a spotlight on the types of cancer that largely affect children, "survivorship issues, and — importantly — to help raise funds for research and family support."

Patch photo of pinwheel courtesy of Greenport Union Free School District; Holly Lanzetta and Sam photo by Lisa Finn.