MAKE SEPTEMBER SHINE GOLD

International Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM), an annual international event that takes place every September to highlight the impact of cancer on children and their family. People wear the gold ribbon, the internationally recognized symbol for childhood cancer, to raise awareness.

Why do we want to raise awareness?
Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children.
Every day, there are almost 700 new cases of childhood cancer around the world.

The aim is to increase awareness about Childhood Cancer in general and to motivate children and students to find ways to honor and keep in mind that there are less fortunate children who cannot go back to school because they are fighting a severe disease. September is the month when children are heading back to school, with a new motivation and batteries fully charged following the summer break, and in 2020 a long confinement period that forced them to stay at home themselves in order to stay safe. But for thousands of children battling cancer, September is another month of treatment and hospital visits and further isolation.

This confinement due to COVID-19 gave us a sense of what children with cancer experience day by day. They’re already missing out on school, playdates and so much of what defines childhood, and their restrictions won’t end when the government lifts them for the rest of us.
In September we can all show our support and affinity to these children and families.

Why is gold used for childhood cancer?
The colour gold symbolizes how precious children are and the resiliency of childhood cancer heroes. Unlike other awareness ribbons that symbolize one specific disease, the childhood cancer ribbon stands for dozens of childhood cancer types.

Our aim is to ensure the colour GOLD becomes synonymous with childhood cancer.
With increased awareness of childhood cancer, comes greater awareness of the early signs and symptoms, earlier diagnosis, increased funding, increased research, kinder and more targeted therapy, and ultimately a change in the prognosis for kids diagnosed with childhood cancer.

CALL FOR ACTION – Ways to Raising Awareness during International Childhood Cancer Month – September 2020

1. Wear It: Get creative and wear gold! You can get a gold ribbon brooch or some gold ribbon tattoos.
2. Raise awareness on social media: Add a golden frame to your Facebook profile picture* and share any of these banners to spread the messages far and wide!  You can also share our posts and support us by raising awareness with following hashtags #ChildhoodCancerAwarenessMonth #ShineGold #SIOPE#CCIEurope #PanCare
3. Share your drawings: Print the Shine Gold Drawing Template and create a beautiful drawing together with your family members.
   Let your imagination run free and show us what does childhood cancer mean to you on a piece of paper! If you want, you can send the drawings to SIOPE (office@siope.eu) and they will proudly be used for our future awareness raising campaigns. You can also post your drawings on social media with these Hashtags: #ChildhoodCancerAwarenessMonth #ShineGold #SIOPE#CCIEurope #PanCare

More information about the joint campaign with SIOP Europe and PanCare can be found here: Shine Gold on Our Young Heroes & Survivors: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

*To add a frame to your Facebook Page’s profile picture:

1. 1. Go to www.facebook.com/profilepicframes.
   2. Click your profile picture in the bottom left and select your Page.
   3. Search for a frame by entering the frame’s name Shine Gold on Our Young Heroes & Survivors! or the creator’s name (SIOP Europe).
   4. Click Use as Profile Picture.