Faris Foundation Raises $750K For Childhood Cancer Awareness

Press release from The Faris Foundation:

Oct. 14, 2020

This September, The Faris Foundation—a Houston-based nonprofit focusing on childhood cancer research, creative arts programs at children’s cancer centers and public engagement and awareness around childhood cancer—raised $750,000 for its “Let There Be GOLD” campaign in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Every year, the Faris Foundation hosts the campaign with public education and fundraising endeavors in AT&T stores nationwide, along with celebration events at childhood cancer centers and gold-themed public art initiatives. This year, over 55,000 customers at nearly 2,000 Prime Communications stores in 46 states contributed to the campaign to raise funds for childhood cancer research and creative arts programs at children’s cancer centers.

“2020 has been a year of challenges and hardship for all, so the generosity of those who contributed has meant the world to us,” said Asha Virani, Founder of The Faris Foundation. “We steward every dollar as if it was given to us straight from a child’s piggy bank. Faris, at the age of 8, initiated research in ewing sarcoma from money directly from his piggy bank, and we uphold this ethos in all that we do. While September honors childhood cancer awareness, for the Foundation, every day is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with cancer.”

Throughout the month, Prime Communications also sponsored a series of “Golden Moments,” where employees fulfilled the wishes of a child or family affected by cancer in their own community. One Golden Moment from this September is set to happen post-Coronavirus for the cousin of a Prime manager— a childhood cancer survivor who is interested in pursuing a career in pediatric oncology and research. He will take a trip to Houston to spend a day at the Faris D. Virani Ewing Sarcoma Center at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. The Golden Moments series is one part of The Faris Foundation’s pledge to increase awareness and funding efforts during the Coronavirus pandemic while so many other organizations have been forced to scale back.

The Faris Foundation’s commitment to addressing the lack of funding and research for childhood cancer is an urgent one. While childhood cancer is the leading cause of death in children in America, only 4 percent of federal funding for cancer research is allocated for childhood cancer. For underfunded cancers like Ewing sarcoma, which Faris was diagnosed with at age six, survival rates and treatments have not changed in decades despite continued progress in adult cancer treatments. The Faris Foundation plans to diminish this disparity by driving awareness and funding research in high-need, high-impact areas.

In addition to the fundraising campaign with AT&T, the Foundation hosted awareness events throughout the month of September, including a series of celebrations at children’s cancer centers, such as Texas Children’s Hospital and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This year, in order to address the increased isolation children and families in cancer centers are facing, the Foundation adapted its celebrations to include a socially distanced carnival for inpatients and the delivery of individually packed kits with golden craft supplies to facilitate a personal gold party for each child and family.

Aligned with The Faris Foundation’s core belief that every child should have access to art as a part of their treatment plan, the Foundation also hosted new public art initiatives, including the inaugural “Art is HOPE” juried art competition, an installation by famed muralist Anat Ronen and a series of free online art workshops each Saturday in September.

To learn more about The Faris Foundation and how to get involved all year, visit www.thefarisfoundation.org.

This press release was produced by The Faris Foundation. The views expressed here are the author's own.