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November 2005
Dear Editor,
Imagine fighting a battle against the most deadly of foes and
your only weapons are a mere paintbrush and a blank canvass. A
scary thought, you might think, but not for the nearly 150 children
of The Paint Box Project™ — a therapeutic
art program that lets kids with cancer strike back against their
diseases, while helping to find cures. They’ve been using their
artwork against cancer for years -- and now Fisher-Price has joined
them in their courageous effort.
This holiday season, The Paint Box Project has teamed
up with toy giant Fisher-Price® to nationally promote two
of the cards drawn by the children to nearly six million households.
Fisher-Price is featuring the cards in their national catalog and
for sale on their website. This is in addition to the 2005 Hopes,
Dreams, & Wishes holiday collection of over 50 cards and
gifts that The Paint Box Project sells each holiday season
to raise money for the nation’s most innovative cancer research,
an initiative that has raised over $5.3 million since its inception
nearly 15 years ago.
This is a story of how artwork empowers children and helps them
to be brave. It’s about eight-year-old Levi who wants to
learn more about animals when he grows up, and 11-year-old Katie
who dreams of being a marine biologist. It’s about eight-year-old
Joseph who dreams of growing up to work in his father’s business,
and seven-year-old Ricky who wants to be a scientist for dinosaurs.
It’s about children, who as ill as they are, still dare to
dream; and about pediatric cancer survivors who are still doing
their part to help the newly diagnosed. Children who love to see
their artwork displayed on Christmas cards, wrapping paper, gifts,
jewelry and more, and who learn all too young that their work is
part of a much bigger picture – one of hope that someday
there will be a cure for all cancers – including their own.
Consider an interview with the daring young artists of The
Paint Box Project. Along with Fisher-Price, their families,
doctors, volunteers and friends, they are ready to tell their
stories and to talk about the healing power of art. It’s
a heartwarming story of hope and strength, and of a determination
to beat cancer. It’s a story about courage, healing, and
the ability to dream. It’s a story that brings home the
true meaning of giving this holiday season.
Kindest Regards,
Jeanne Rebillard
Rebillard Public Relations
845-373-7456
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Childhood Cancer Patients Share Art from the Heart to Fund Needed Cancer Research
Therapeutic program transforms hopes and dreams into holiday
cards and gifts.
A courageous group of young cancer patients is fighting back
against the disease this holiday season with a most unlikely weapon — tiny
paintbrushes — as they continue a now 16-year tradition of
using artworks to fund new cancer research.
The children numbering over 150 strong are from almost every
walk of life imaginable. They are tied together through their illness,
and by a unique art therapy program run by volunteers known as The
Paint Box Project™. The program converts artworks by
pediatric cancer patients into colorful cards and gifts, sold to
the public, to support research to find answers… and save
lives.
In its first 15 years, The Paint Box Project already has raised
over $5.3 million to fuel leading edge cancer research. In the
process, it is credited with empowering young patients like 18-year-old
Corrie O’Hara, by allowing them to make a difference for
others facing cancer. O’Hara was introduced to The Paint
Box Project while receiving chemotherapy for Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma.
“ Art has always been a big part of my life so I jumped
at the chance to help out,” she says. “It gave me a
chance to take my mind off of what was going on and I could sit
and talk with other kids who were going through the same thing
as I was. Seeing my artwork in the catalog and the way people respond
to it is unbelievable.”
This year’s catalog, themed Hopes, Dreams and Wishes,
includes quotes from the patient-artists about their life’s
ambitions after cancer. Some dream to be actors,
writers and fashion models. Others look forward to studies in marine
biology, or careers in teaching and the sciences. It’s a
touching and impactful reminder that behind each of these adorable
holiday cards is a personal story and wish for a cancer-free tomorrow.
All told, the collection offers over 50 new cards designed by
the patients, plus an exclusive corporate archive of nearly 100
cards. The online store (www.PaintBoxProject.com)
offers easy shopping and card customization to add your photos,
greetings or even a company logo. A toll-free hotline (1-800-959-5931)
is manned by volunteers.
The program also has unveiled two new exclusive cards for 2005
sold through a partnership with toy giant Fisher-Price®.
Through the “Making Spirits Bright” campaign, Fisher-Price
is
offering boxed sets of Wise Man’s Journey and Precious
Gifts—both designed by the young patients at an “art
party” hosted for the children at Fisher-Price’s
headquarters in East Aurora , New York . The cards are now featured
in Fisher-Price’s Shop-at-Home catalog, and online at www.fisher-pricestore.com.
Eight-year-old Gabriella Tirone designed Precious Gifts for
the collaboration. The card spotlights a smiling young girl figure
skating beneath a bright, hopeful sunshine. Tirone was introduced
to The Paint Box Project after being diagnosed with leukemia in
early 2004. Asked about her cancer, she says simply, “This
is God’s way of teaching me how to be brave.”
According to organizers, the dollars raised by The Paint Box
Project and its artists like Corrie and Gabriella are now supporting
some of the nation’s most innovative research by acting as
seed funding. It’s the kind of unrestricted dollars necessary
for getting novel ideas off the ground and underway in the lab.
With enough positive results, the studies are applied to the National
Cancer Institute for long-term funding, moving them into clinical
trials offering the best hope yet for extending and enhancing life.
Brushstrokes of Hope
About The Paint Box Project
- The
Paint Box Project TM, founded in 1990, uses the healing power
of art to help young cancer patients and their family members
to express themselves during and after treatment.
- Colorful cards are drawn by the children and their siblings
at festive “art parties” held throughout the year.
- The children’s artworks also are converted into gifts
including wrapping papers, fleece apparel, custom-designed jewelry,
kitchen and garden accessories, as well as labels for gourmet
chocolates.
- Since
its inception, The Paint Box Project TM has raised over
$5.3 million to find cures and save lives.
- Over 150 children and their siblings currently are involved
in creating these inspired artworks.
- The popularity of The Paint Box Project TM has allowed it
to expand to a year-round program offering cards and gifts for
all occasions — from birthday to thank you cards, Mother’s
Day, Father’s Day, graduations and more.
- A comprehensive and user-friendly website, www.PaintBoxProject.com allows
consumers to easily customize their cards for home or business
with photos, greetings, and corporate logos.
- A complete line of family photo cards featuring the children’s
artwork also is available at the program’s online store.
What’s New for 2005
Little People® Helping Little People…Teaming Up with America ’s
Favorite Toymaker!
- Fisher-Price has partnered with The Paint
Box Project™ to present two exclusive cards through its
national holiday catalog, and online at www.fisher-pricestore.com.
- The
cards were created at a special art party hosted by Fisher-Price
at its headquarters in East Aurora , New York . While there,
the children and their families enjoyed playful visits from life-sized
Little People® and Adventure Heroes®, as well as snacks
and celebrity-style photo shoots by the Fisher-Price creative
team.
- Fisher-Price celebrated its 75th anniversary
by donating $25,000 to upgrade the pediatric unit at Roswell
Park Cancer Institute— America’s first cancer center.
The grant will help support the merger of inpatient and outpatient
clinics, and will enhance the pediatric wing with new furniture,
books, playroom amenities and toys to offer added comfort to
children and families during their stay.
Childhood Cancer Statistics
- In the United States in 2005, approximately 9,510 children
under age 15 will be diagnosed with cancer and about 1,585 children
will die from the disease (1). Although this makes cancer the
leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children 1 to 14
years of age, cancer is still relatively rare in this age group
with, on average, 1 to 2 children developing the disease each
year for every 10,000 children in the United States.
- Among the 12 major types of childhood cancers, leukemias (blood
cell cancers) and brain and other central nervous system tumors
account for over one-half of the new cases. About one-third of
childhood cancers are leukemias.
- While there has been a slight increase in the incidence of
children diagnosed with all forms of invasive cancer over the
past 20 years (from 11.5 cases per 100,000 children in 1975 to
14.6 per 100,000 children in 2002), death rates declined dramatically.
The five-year survival rates for all childhood cancers combined
increased from 55.9 percent in 1974 – 1976 to 78.6 percent
in 1995 – 2001. This improvement in survival rates
is due to significant advances in treatment, resulting in cure
or long-term remission for a substantial proportion of children
with cancer.
- The causes of childhood cancers are largely unknown. A few
conditions, such as Down syndrome, other specific chromosomal
and genetic abnormalities, and ionizing radiation exposures,
explain a small percentage of cases.
- Environmental causes of childhood cancer have long been suspected
by many scientists but have been difficult to pin down, partly
because cancer in children is rare, and partly because it is
so difficult to identify past exposure levels in children, particularly
during potentially important periods such as pregnancy or even
prior to conception. In addition, each of the distinctive types
of childhood cancers develops differently — with a potentially
wide variety of causes and a unique clinical course in terms
of age, race, gender, and many other factors.
SOURCE:
The National Cancer Institute
Where The Money Goes…
The Driven Pursuit of Cancer Cures
- All proceeds from The Paint Box Project TM act as critical
seed funding for the newest research seeking cancer cures.
- By providing funds for innovative new ideas to be studied,
The Paint Box Project allows scientists to then leverage their
most promising results into larger funding from the National
Institutes of Health and other sources. Results form the basis
of clinical trials, which help to extend and enhance life for
cancer patients of every age, while perfecting new preventive
approaches.
- This work is coordinated by Roswell Park Cancer Institute,
a National Cancer Institute (NCI) comprehensive cancer center. “Roswell
Park ” was founded in 1898 in Buffalo, New York , as the
nation’s first cancer research, treatment
and education center. Today it is among the elite 39 NCI centers
and a leader in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
- Research performed with Paint Box Project funds is collaborative
in scope. Scientists work within NCI guidelines, regularly sharing
findings with other scientists and clinicians from other centers
across the country.
Meet Our “Paintologists”
Spokespersons available from The Paint Box Project
Child and Teen Artists and Their Parents
Several Paint Box Project artists who are currently being treated for cancer,
or who have successfully been treated, are available to share their stories
about participation in the program, and about their future dreams.
Volunteer Leadership
Volunteers who lead this effort include Anne D. Gioia ,
whose leadership has helped to raise over $100 million
for cancer research and patient care programs through annual programs
including The Paint Box Project. Mrs. Gioia began her volunteer advocacy
shortly after losing her five-year-old daughter, Katherine, to a rare
form of brain cancer.
Medical/Research
Oncology doctors and scientists whose research benefits from The Paint
Box Project are available to discuss why seed funding is crucial to
new research aimed at uncovering new ways to treat and prevent cancer.
Medical psychologists and pediatric oncologists are available to discuss
the therapeutic benefits of art to a child’s cancer treatment program.
Paint Box Project Staff Leadership
As the Director of Business and Development Marketing for Roswell Park
Cancer Institute, Mary Gearing is responsible for The Paint
Box Project’s daily strategic direction to aid cancer research. She
is currently overseeing the expansion of the program to help additional children
and cancer centers through collaborative partnerships .
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