In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the Pirates will host a special Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day today, Sunday, September 6, as part of the Pirates Cancer Support Weekend initiative in partnership with Allegheny Health Network.

In a normal year, the Club would host a pregame superhero ceremony at PNC Park for pediatric cancer patients. The pregame event would be complete with an on-field caping event where each pediatric cancer guest would receive their very own Pirates superhero cape by a member of the team. The cape is a symbol of strength and meant to assist them in their fight. This season, since they could not be together at the ballpark, the Pirates brought the caping ceremony to these special young heroes.

Prior to Sunday, members of the front office delivered special superhero packs to the homes of pediatric cancer victims ranging in ages from 2 to 14 years. Each box was personalized by a member of the team and included a hand-written note of encouragement from a Pirates player and manager Derek Shelton as well as a special photo personally supporting each hero, autographed items and more. Though they cannot be in attendance this season, each superhero will be honored in-park with a “fan cutout” picture of themselves prominently placed in the stands behind the home dugout.

In addition, the Pirates and Pirates Charities lent support to Lending Hearts, a local pediatric cancer support group, through a $5,000 donation to continue its mission to provide emotional and social resources to children and young adults with cancer. The organization works to help them and their families through unique activities and community outreach through treatment and beyond.

The events on Sunday capped off a weekend during which the Pirates supported a number of organizations that assist individuals affected by cancer and their loved ones. Several happenings around the weekend include $5,000 donations to deserving organizations from Pirates Charities; feature segments during each game including interviews with executives of featured nonprofits; opportunity for fans to support virtually via social media and at pirates.com; special lineup reads and Take Me Out to the Ballgame performances from representatives of each group.

The local organizations featured include:

• Friday, September 4: AHN Cancer Institute
• Saturday, September 5: A Glimmer of Hope
• Sunday, September 6: Lending Hearts