Community event provides an opportunity to combat childhood cancer

An upcoming event is offering community members the opportunity to support a local family and help fight childhood cancer.

Pound Out Childhood Cancer is inspired by 18-month-old Everett House, a Mt. Pleasant resident who was diagnosed with Leukemia less than a year ago. The idea for the event came about after Everett’s cousin reached out to Morey Courts Recreation Center Executive Director Amy Bunting to collaborate.

Originally, the plan was to do a fitness fundraiser, but the concept expanded when the opportunity to work with students from Central Michigan University’s sports management capstone arose.

“I said let's do something that can be meaningful and impactful to get this group of students engaged in our community. And in a real-life scenario where they're putting on a real-life benefit for a broad purpose, but also that will have community impact,” says Bunting.

The event will be held at Morey Courts from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 30 with a full day of activities and opportunities to participate. The first portion of the day is dedicated to the blood drive and nonprofit organization Be The Match, where attendees can donate their blood and find out if they’re a match for a bone marrow transplant.

“The child who's inspiring us isn't the person who necessarily needs a bone marrow transplant, but what we're doing is we're combining some resources so that people can do a one-stop-shop of self-giving, even if they don't have monetary means,” says Bunting.

After 4 p.m. there will be outdoor games, group exercise activities, and a silent auction. There will also be concessions and t-shirts available for purchase.

Bunting says that Morey Courts has been diligently following the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services guidelines and protocols and that attendees will be required to wear a mask and follow social distancing measures.

The event is free and is open to the public. For more information, visit the Pound Out Childhood Cancer event page.  
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Read more articles by Riley Connell.

Riley Connell is a senior at Central Michigan University majoring in journalism and minoring in broadcast and cinematic arts. She has written for CMU's student-run publication Grand Central Magazine for two years and is now the editor-in-chief. After obtaining her degree, Riley would like to become a full-time feature writer. In her free time, Riley enjoys listening to music, trying new food, and collecting vintage clothing. She grew up in Metro Detroit and currently resides in Mt. Pleasant.