Paint for a Cure once again touched the lives of children throughout the community.
The annual event was held at the Union Station Depot. For years, Jensen’s Heart of Gold’s Florida Chapter has hosted the event in downtown as a means to give local children a chance to play, uninterrupted, and to soak in the joys of being a kid. This year was no different and the depot was filled with families — who socially distanced and wore masks at all times — that wanted to spend an afternoon having some creative fun.
The event had a $5 donation for three rocks and then attendees, young and old alike, were invited to get creative and paint their rocks however their heart desired. There was popcorn, pizza, lemonade and a bake sale on site to make the experience one many will remember for years to come.
The event is always held in September in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Each year an estimated 15,780 children up to age 19 are diagnosed with cancer and approximately one in 285 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday.
Jensen’s uses the money raised to help local families who are affected by childhood cancer. Some families choose to use the money to help with expenses, others buy tires for the family vehicle that they use to go to treatment and some even will use the money to treat their child to a celebration they’ve been wishing for for years.
This year, there was an additional aspect to the event.
Morgan Pierce, daughter of Jensen’s Heart of Gold Florida executive vice president Emily Pierce, died of cancer on June 25. Morgan was a beacon in the community and enthralled all who had the honor of meeting her. She was many things: courageous, compassionate, fiercely opinionated and also quite a talented artist. In honor of Morgan, a silent auction art show took place inside the depot. Some of Morgan’s art was on display and up for bid. The silent auction online featured nine pieces of art.
During Sunday’s event, the organization was able to raise $1,200 for local children with cancer. Bids for the silent auction were collected Wednesday evening.