Published: Nov. 16, 2015
Young cancer Patients at Sparrow will benefit from funds raised during the 2015 Compete for a Cause campaign at Okemos and Mason high schools.
During a special event on Friday, Nov. 13, three Okemos Boys Varsity Soccer captains and four Mason Boys Varsity Soccer captains presented two checks for $13,500 each to the Michigan State University Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic located at the Sparrow Professional Building and St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a national charity organization. It was the two schools’ fourth annual Compete for a Cause fundraiser.
On hand to accept the donations were child ambassador Luke Fochtman representing St. Baldrick’s Foundation and Renuka Gera, M.D., a Pediatric Hematology and Oncology specialist at Sparrow and Acting Chair of the MSU Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. Also on hand were Santosh Hanmod, M.D., a Pediatric Hematology and Oncology specialist at Sparrow, and Pediatric Nurses Tamara Treat and Mary Robinson.
“It really helps us improve services for our children so they can get better care,” said Dr. Gera. “We are very appreciative of these donations.”
St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-powered charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers.
The MSU Pediatric Oncology Clinic treats many types and stages of childhood cancer and has worked with St. Baldrick’s for some of their clinical trials. Clinical trials for children and adolescents are done at MSU and Sparrow Health System in cooperation with the Children's Oncology Group/CureSearch (COG), led by Dr. Gera as principal investigator for the Children’s Oncology Group. Inpatient services are provided at Sparrow Children’s Center. Patients from both Mason and Okemos have greatly benefitted from the care received here.
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