Y. to host Children with Cancer
Wednesday night will mark the 12th annual party for the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation, an organization BYU basketball coach Dave Rose and his wife Cheryl have been involved with since it started in 1998. Each year the BYU basketball team hosts local families with children who have cancer for a night of food, games and presents.
“You want to make these children happy, at least for a short period of time,” coach Rose said. “But I think what’s really important is for the children and families to know there are people who care. Because when you’re fighting such an uncertain disease, the support from other people gives you strength. I know that firsthand.”
There were 15 families who attended the first Children with Cancer Cancer Foundation party. This year there are 98.
“It’s one of those parties where we don’t like it to grow,” Cheryl Rose said. “We would like to not have to have a party, but the good news for us is that we’re getting the word out and we’re reaching those families who are affected by this. They are able to come and have a night where they don’t have to think about it.”
The families who attend the party often spend so much money on medication and doctors that they have little left over to spend on Christmas. Donations from local individuals make it possible for the famlies to celebrate a more normal Christmas.
“[The parents'] whole focus is on getting their child better, and they still have other children,” Cheryl Rose said. “That’s the beauty of this foundation. Not only do we give to the child with cancer but to all the siblings. They’re all treated the same. They’ll go home with bags of toys and they’ll have Christmas. There are many families that wouldn’t have Christmas if it wasn’t for this.”
While they have been involved for years, this year’s party means something more to the Rose family. Coach Rose was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier in the year and has since recovered, but the experience helped him and his family better appreciate what these families are going through.
“[Dave] wants to make a difference,” Cheryl Rose said. “I think he’s just excited for the second chance he has at life and he wants to make the most of it. He wants to make a difference in people’s lives, and he’s in a position where he can do that.”
Monetary donations can be sent to the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation at 56 East 100 South, Orem, Utah 84058. Donations can be made through the end of December.