Danilo Gallinari, power forward for the Boston Celtics, is teaming up with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, to help conquer kids’ cancer.
“I’m deeply thankful to have the opportunity to team up with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and utilize my platform to make a positive impact on the lives of children fighting cancer,” said Gallinari. “St. Baldrick’s commitment to supporting cancer research and treatment means a great deal to me and I look forward to spending my time off the court to support this lifesaving cause.”
Gallinari will be kicking off his support for St. Baldrick’s by getting involved with the charity’s Giving Tuesday campaign to raise funds for research focused on finding cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. The campaign will be launched on Tuesday, November 29, with a video featuring Gallinari and childhood cancer survivor Oliver Gant from Raleigh, N.C.
In the video, Gallinari shares the startling statistic that in the 2-minute break between quarters, another child will be diagnosed with cancer. Oliver is one of those kids. Before he was 2 years old, Oliver was diagnosed with cancer, a stage 3 germ cell tumor. He had 4 rounds of chemo to shrink the tumor, and then a major surgery to remove it, but the cancer continued to grow. With limited options, the doctors tried a different chemotherapy treatment and another surgery. Because of research, Oliver is now a 13-year-old survivor with a passion for playing guitar, rock climbing, and sharing his story to help other kids affected by cancer.
St. Baldrick’s is dedicated to funding the best childhood cancer research, no matter where it takes place, so that kids can survive and thrive. Appropriately, Gallinari closes out the video saying, “The greatest assist you can give kids with cancer is helping to fund lifesaving research.”
“We are honored to have Danilo as one of our St. Baldrick’s Champions helping to raise awareness and funds for research that will save kids’ lives,” said Kathleen Ruddy, St. Baldrick’s CEO. “Danilo has such a big heart and is committed to helping the cause in any way that he can. We hope others will be encouraged to join in and help kids live long, healthy lives, and maybe even grow up to be the next great basketball player!”
