‘Be Bold, Go Gold’ gets set to kick off fundraising for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Going gold for a good cause.

12-year-old Katelyn Irwin planned to kick off her fourth annual ‘Be Bold, Go Gold’ fundraiser for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Wednesday but unfortunately mother nature had other plans as the even got postponed.

That’s not stopping the local 7th grader from getting the community excited about raising money to support pediatric cancer patients.

September 1st is the start of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and after seeing her brother battle Leukemia, Irwin wants to ensure she can spread the news.

“So I went to my school and it was a breast cancer day and I was like why don’t they have a pediatric cancer day and so I started my own,” exclaimed Be Bold, Go Gold founder Katelyn Irwin.

Enter Be Bold, Go Gold, a fundraiser Irwin started at Roberts Elementary and has extended to nearly every Leon County school.

Even businesses like Moore Bass Consulting and Dunkin’ have been supporting the cause.

“It’s great with all the support I get in this community because we’ve got people from almost every single school in Leon County,” expressed Irwin. “We’ve got principals, we’ve got everyone in town to help us out and it’s just great.”

Irwin says she’s looking to help a demographic impacted by this disease more than most think.

“Childhood cancer is the number one disease cause of death in the United States and so they’re probably 15,000 kids each year in the us who are diagnosed with cancer,” explained UF Pediatric Oncology Division Chief Bill Slayton.

Dr. Slayton, who help treat Irwin’s brother Grayson and other kids in Tallahassee, made his way up from Gainesville to support a cause that goes a long way.

“There’s fundraising for the treatments and then there’s fundraising for the families and this event was going to do both,” Dr. Slayton said. “And so I’m just very glad to be here to see my former patients and I get to see their families.”

And while the event got rained out, Dr. Slayton was able to reunite with some of his former patients for a fundraising challenge.

“I’ll smash this cupcake on Dr. Bill’s head if you guys raise 10,000 dollars,” challenged Cancer Survivor and Katelyn’s little brother Grayson Irwin.

And while Grayson got to smash the cupcake anyway to celebrate his 10th birthday, he and Dr. Bill are challenging anyone who can, to donate to the cause.

Although Wednesday’s event was canceled, the fundraiser is still ongoing as they hope to raise as much money as possible to assist those families currently going to the fight.

Last year, Katelyn’s Be Bold, Go Gold campaign raised more than $12,000 and this year they hope to raise $25,000 dollars.

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