How Do We Change the Trajectory of Childhood Cancer?
Every September, gold ribbons appear in our communities and across social media for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Awareness matters. But awareness alone cannot change outcomes.
So this year, we wanted to ask a bigger question:
How do we change the trajectory of childhood cancer?
At Cultivate Hair Salon, our partnership with Fourth & Gold has given us the opportunity to learn more about the realities facing children diagnosed with cancer, the families walking beside them, and the researchers working toward better treatments.
We recently sat down with Erin Tracy, oncology nurse and founder of Fourth & Gold, to talk about why she created the organization, where childhood cancer research stands today, and what all of us can do to help move it forward.
From the Front Lines to Fourth & Gold
Fourth & Gold was founded in 2020 with one clear mission: to help accelerate childhood cancer research and fund more effective, less toxic treatments for children.
For Erin, that mission comes from firsthand experience.
As an oncology nurse, she has seen what childhood cancer looks like beyond the statistics. She has witnessed children endure difficult treatments, families navigate unimaginable uncertainty, and survivors live with the lasting effects of the therapies that saved their lives.
That experience led to a question that continues to drive Fourth & Gold today:
How can we do better for these children?
Fourth & Gold brings together healthcare professionals, advocates, families and communities to identify and support promising pediatric cancer research. Since August 2020, the organization reports investing $576,000 into pediatric cancer research.
Their goal isn't simply survival.
It's helping create a future where children have access to treatments designed specifically for them, treatments that give them the opportunity not only to survive cancer, but to thrive afterward.
Why Childhood Cancer Research Matters
Research is how tomorrow's treatments are created.
It is how scientists better understand different childhood cancers, how clinical trials move forward, how new therapies are developed, and how treatments can become more effective while reducing the long-term harm they may cause.
Fourth & Gold demonstrate why private fundraising and advocacy continue to matter: promising research requires resources, and pediatric cancer researchers are still working toward better options for children facing these diseases.
Every research project funded represents another opportunity to learn.
Another treatment that could be explored.
Another door that could open.
Another chance to change what a childhood cancer diagnosis means for the next family.
So, How Do We Change the Trajectory?
There isn't one action, one fundraiser or one organization that will solve childhood cancer.
Change happens when enough people decide that progress matters ... and then do something about it.
We fund research.
Donations help organizations like Fourth & Gold invest in promising pediatric cancer research and the development of safer, more effective treatments.
We turn awareness into advocacy.
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month gives us an opportunity to learn, talk about the realities of pediatric cancer, share reliable information and help more people understand why continued research is necessary.
We support organizations doing the work.
Donate. Attend a fundraiser. Become a sponsor. Volunteer. Share their mission. Introduce their organization to a business or community partner who may be able to help.
We get our communities involved.
One of the most powerful things about Lucy's Lemonade Stand is its simplicity. Families, neighborhoods, schools and businesses can come together around a lemonade stand and turn a small community event into meaningful support for research.
Fourth & Gold provides kits for registered Lucy's Lemonade Stand hosts and also offers sponsorship opportunities for individuals and businesses wanting to support the campaign.
And we keep talking about childhood cancer after September ends.
Children are diagnosed every month of the year.
Researchers need support every month of the year.
Families need advocates every month of the year.
September can bring attention to the cause, but meaningful change requires us to carry that attention forward.
Small Actions Become Something Bigger
It is easy to look at something as enormous as childhood cancer and wonder what difference one person, one salon, one lemonade stand or one donation could possibly make.
But research is funded one contribution at a time.
Awareness grows one conversation at a time.
Communities change one person at a time.
And movements often begin with someone deciding that the status quo isn't good enough.
At Cultivate, we believe growth happens when we invest in people and in the future we want to see. Supporting Fourth & Gold and Lucy's Lemonade Stand gives our salon community an opportunity to put that belief into action.
Because the question isn't simply:
“How do we raise awareness for childhood cancer?”
The question is:
“How do we change the trajectory of childhood cancer?”
We fund the research.
We tell the stories.
We support the families.
We advocate.
We show up.
And we keep going.
Until children facing cancer have better options, safer treatments and more tomorrows.
Join Us
We invite our Cultivate community to learn more about Fourth & Gold, support Lucy's Lemonade Stand, donate to pediatric cancer research, and share this mission with the people around you.
A lemonade stand may seem small.
A donation may seem small.
A conversation may seem small.
But when an entire community takes a stand together, small actions can become something powerful.
Together, we can help change the trajectory of childhood cancer.
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