30 Pieces

• PIECE #1: THE DISEASE

  Throughout September, we’ll be sharing 30 pieces that make up the complicated reality of childhood cancer. No piece is more important than another, because it takes every single piece to understand the full picture. But we have to start somewhere, so we begin with the reason we’re all here: the disease. Childhood cancer changes everything. It interrupts childhoods, reshapes families, creates impossible decisions, and brings children and those who love them into a world they never expected to know. And yet, the disease itself is only one piece of the story. We encourage you to comment below with stories, takes, advice, and anything else you'd like to share this month as we connect the pieces. Today, Piece #1 is represented by McLaren Grimes, who passed on July 25, 2026 at age 5 from DMG🎗️ Thank you, Stevie & Jimmy, for allowing us to honor McLaren and helping us place piece #1 on the board💛 #childhoodcancerawareness #tough2gether

• PIECE #2: THE CHILD

  Behind every childhood cancer diagnosis is a child. A child with a favorite song. A favorite food. A best friend. A laugh their family could recognize anywhere. A child with dreams, plans, quirks, talents, and an entire personality that existed long before cancer entered their life. Childhood cancer can quickly turn a child into a patient. Their days become filled with appointments, scans, medications, procedures, and words no child should have to understand. But they are children first. Always. When we talk about research, treatments, survival rates, funding, and progress, we can never lose sight of who we're fighting for. Not statistics or diagnoses, but kids who deserve the chance to grow up. Today, Piece #2 is represented by Ezra Talkington from Kansas🎗️ Every child has a story bigger than their diagnosis. And every single one of them is worth fighting for. We encourage you to share photos of your children and the things that make them...them💛 #childhoodcancerawareness #tough2gether

• PIECE #3: THE FAMILY

  Families become caregivers, researchers, advocates, nurses, schedulers, fundraisers, and voices for their child - often overnight. They learn terminology they never wanted to know and make decisions no parent should ever have to make. They surround their child with love through appointments, treatments, scans, hospital stays, good news, bad news, and all of the uncertainty in between. But families aren’t only part of this picture because of the support they provide. They are impacted, too. Parents carry fear, exhaustion, financial strain, and unimaginable pain while trying to remain strong for their child. Siblings watch their world change around them. And for families who lose a child, the impact of childhood cancer doesn’t end when treatment does. These families also become some of the fiercest advocates for change - sharing their stories, fighting for research, pushing for better treatments, supporting the families who come after them, and making sure their children’s voices continue to be heard. Today, Piece #3 is represented by the Jace Ward family🎗️ When a child fights cancer, a family fights alongside them. And they are an essential piece of the picture. We encourage you to share photos and stories of your family at any stage of the fight against childhood cancer💛 #childhoodcancerawareness #tough2gether

• PIECE #4: THE SIBLINGS

  There is a kind of love between siblings that is hard to put into words. And when childhood cancer enters their lives, that bond is asked to carry more than it ever should. Siblings become cheerleaders, protectors, companions, and sometimes caregivers. They celebrate the good days, sit beside hospital beds, adjust to changed routines, and find ways to make their brother or sister laugh when very little feels normal. And through it all, they are still kids, teenagers, and young adults trying to understand something that even adults struggle to comprehend. And for those who lose their sibling, there is a grief uniquely their own. They don't just lose a brother or sister. They lose someone who shared their childhood, their memories, their family, their inside jokes, and a future they always assumed they would share. It is a loss that no one can fully understand unless they have lived it. Their grief deserves to be seen. Their stories deserve to be heard. And the incredible love and strength they show throughout this journey deserve to be recognized. Today, Piece #4 is represented by the Costanzo sisters🎗️ To every sibling who has stood beside their brother or sister through childhood cancer - and to every sibling learning how to carry their love forward after loss: You are an important piece of this story, too. We encourage you to share photos of your siblings and share your favorite memories💛 #childhoodcancerawareness #tough2gether

• PIECE #5: THE FRIENDS

  Childhood cancer doesn’t stop at the walls of a home or hospital room. Its impact reaches friendships, too. Friends are the people who remind a child or young adult that they are still them when they may feel limited to a patient. They show up. They sit beside them. They make them laugh. They keep them included when treatment makes normal life feel impossibly far away. Sometimes friendship means learning how to support someone through something you never imagined facing. It means watching someone you love hurt and wishing you could take it away. It means being strong beside them while carrying fear and pain of your own. And when a friend is lost to childhood cancer, that grief is real and profound. Friends grieve the memories they shared and all the ones they thought they still had time to make. They lose the person they texted, laughed with, grew up with, made plans with, and expected to have beside them for years to come. That loss deserves to be recognized, too. Today, Piece #5 is represented by Jake Mendes & his friends who stood by him through it all🎗️ To every friend who shows up during the fight, and every friend who continues carrying someone’s memory after they’re gone: Your love matters. Your grief matters. And you are an important piece of this story. We welcome you to share your photos, your stories, and your memories💛 #childhoodcancerawareness #tough2gether

• PIECE #6: THE SCHOOL

  For a child with cancer, sometimes one of the most extraordinary things they can experience is something that once felt completely ordinary: Going to school. School can offer something cancer takes away far too often - normalcy. A classroom where they aren’t a patient. A hallway filled with familiar faces. Friends to laugh with. Teachers who know them for who they are, not for their diagnosis. A place where they can learn, play, belong, and simply feel like a kid again. And when treatment keeps a child away, the school community can become an incredible source of support. Teachers find ways to keep students connected to their classrooms. Classmates send cards, wear shirts, organize fundraisers, shave their heads, celebrate milestones, and remind their friend that there is still a whole community waiting for them. Schools rally around parents and siblings, often becoming an extended family during an unimaginably difficult time. For some children, returning to school is a milestone worth celebrating. For others, cancer means missing months or years of an experience every child deserves. And for classmates and teachers who lose a student, an empty desk can represent a loss felt throughout an entire community. School is so much more than academics. It’s friendship, routine, belonging, identity, independence, and childhood. Today, Piece #6 is represented by Abigale Vanhoosier, who passed this summer after a 19 month battle with DIPG🎗️ To the teachers, classmates, administrators, coaches, counselors, and entire school communities who make sure a child facing cancer still knows they belong: Thank you - you are an important piece of this story. We encourage all to share photos of their child attending school and stories that may be helpful to families in the fight today💛 #childhoodcancerawareness #tough2gether

• PIECE #7: THE COMMUNITY

  Sometimes support comes from the people closest to a family. And sometimes it comes from someone they have never even met. That is the power of community. It’s the neighbor who drops off dinner. The person who follows every update on Facebook. The donor who gives what they can. The volunteer who gives their time. The person who shares a post so one more person learns a child’s name. It’s the hundreds of people who show up to a fundraiser, buy a shirt, organize an event, send a card, say a prayer, offer encouragement, or simply make sure a family knows they aren’t facing this alone. Every act may look different, but together they create something incredibly powerful: a community surrounding a child with love. And when the unimaginable happens, that community still matters. When a child is lost, families need people willing to continue showing up - not only in the days immediately following their loss, but months and years later. People who aren’t afraid to say their child’s name. People who remember birthdays and anniversaries. People who continue attending events, raising money, funding research, and fighting for other children in their honor and memory. Because the community that rallied around a child during their fight can become the community that helps carry their legacy forward. Today, Piece #7 is represented by Tatertough supporters, pictured at their annual Kentucky Derby party, which raised over $150,000 this year thanks to the hard work of Tate Schaefer's parents and other TaterTough team members, the generosity of their supporters, and the strength of their community🎗️ events.tough2gether.org/cdd26 To every person who has ever given their time, money, energy, voice, presence, or heart to a child and family facing cancer: You may not always realize how much your support means. You are such an important piece of this puzzle and we encourage you to share photos and stories below of how you support the childhood cancer family close to your heart💛 #childhoodcancerawareness #tough2gether

Awareness Posts

• Annual Jace Ward Memorial Tournament Committee

  The planners, fundraisers, and volunteers make this event so amazing each year!

Fundraising Calendar