Photos: Kindergarten Kids Place Bright Yellow Pinwheels To Help Children With Cancer

GREENPORT, NY — Even using an iPad to talk to their friend Sam, who has battled leukemia and was home sick Friday, his kindergarten classmates were able to send messages of love and friendship.

"Hi, Sam. Get better soon!" they chorused.

The kids were gathered on the lawn outside the Greenport school district Friday, carefully placing bright pinwheels they'd made to show their support for children like Sam, fighting cancer.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and gold is the color adorning ribbons and, in Greenport, pinwheels, to educate and spread the word.

Sam, who lives in Greenport and just started kindergarten this semester, was diagnosed last year with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; this spring, friends and neighbors joined together up to shave their heads as a way of raising money and awareness about childhood cancers.

Kindergarten students displayed 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.

"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."

On Friday, looking at the sea of pinwheels and the children, carefully placing them in the grass, she smiled. "This is a beautiful way for the kids to show their support."

The pinwheels will remain on the lawn through the Maritime Festival this weekend, until sometime next week.

The day was meant to shine a light on caring and compassion, Johnstone 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."

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, Sam's mom, has been working to raise awareness about childhood cancer; she organized the “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 marked 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.

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 photos by Lisa Finn.