The Atlanta Braves will join Major League Baseball and all MLB Clubs in a league-wide effort to raise childhood cancer awareness by dedicating a special day at Turner Field on September 10. This is a continuation of the inaugural "Childhood Cancer Awareness Day," which Major League Baseball is launching on Friday, September 2nd.
The Atlanta Braves will honor children and families who are currently fighting or have courageously battled pediatric cancer with a pregame reception before the September 10 matchup with the New York Mets. At the reception, the Braves Wives will present four children with the Diamond of Courage Award, and the four recipients will also be recognized in a pregame on-field presentation. All survivors and fighters receive two complimentary tickets to the September 10 game by visiting www.Braves.com/ccawareness. During the month of September, the Braves are also auctioning off gold baseballs autographed by Braves players to raise money for several pediatric cancer organizations. Visit www.Braves.com/charityauctions to place a bid.
In partnership with Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), MLB encouraged Clubs to support this new initiative in commemoration of childhood cancer awareness month through a variety of special activations. On September 2nd, all Major League players, coaches, umpires and grounds crew members will wear gold ribbon decals and wristbands to further promote awareness for childhood cancer, which is the leading cause of death by disease in children aged 15 and under in the United States. In Canada, more than 1,500 children will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Every year, an estimated 250,000 new cases of cancer affect children under the age of 20 worldwide.
All Clubs were able to choose to partner with local nonprofits, including hospital partners or organizations focused on childhood cancer, for their Childhood Cancer Awareness Day activations.
MLB Advanced Media will coordinate a digital effort to increase exposure of this effort by placing information and editorial features on MLB.com, Club sites and MLBCommunity.org.
MLB and Clubs have supported the fight against cancer over the years. As Stand Up To Cancer's founding donor, Major League Baseball has provided both financial support (nearly $40 million) and countless opportunities to build the Stand Up To Cancer grassroots movement by encouraging fans around the world to get involved. MLB has recognized SU2C for the past six years during the World Series. Recent Club activations have included special gold pediatric cancer awareness batting practice t-shirts, online campaigns to empower fans to become fundraisers for pediatric cancer research and donations to local children's hospitals. Previous league-wide efforts included a $1 million donation to the CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation.