When Zach and Ryan Snipes lived in Savannah, they learned a little about CURE when they saw gold bows on mailboxes during September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. A few years ago, they moved to Atlanta and, lo and behold, they saw gold bows again! Being inquisitive, Zach decided to learn a little more about CURE and the gold bows. What he discovered lit a fire to be a part of the program.
“Cancer has affected some of my relatives,” Zach explained. “It seems like there’s not a lot a kid my age can do to help. But when I saw how simple it would be to sell gold bows in my area and make a difference for kids fighting cancer, I volunteered to be a neighborhood captain.”
Zach is a senior at Milton High School and Ryan just started his sophomore year at Blessed Trinity. Together, they championed the gold bow program last year and sold 44 bows! This year, as the letter they sent to their community indicated, cancer got more personal.
This year, our challenge to Go Gold is more personal. Our grandfather was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in May and a close family friend will begin his fight with colon cancer this week. And lastly, we fight for Jackson Bastow, a two-year-old family friend who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma just two weeks ago. Cancer didn’t stop during COVID-19, in fact, it has rocked our community.
Zach and Ryan distributed the flyer around their neighborhood with instructions on how to purchase. The bows cost $25 each and the brothers have sold 76 so far this year! That means they’ve raised $1900 to fight childhood cancer!
“We’ve always wanted to help out with cancer charities because of our family,” Zach said. “But this year we really wanted to go the extra mile for Jackson.”
CURE’s goal this year is to sell 7500 bows which would raise $187,000. To put that in perspective, that amount of money raised could:
- help 187 families struggling with rent or mortgage payments during the pandemic
- fund genetic tested for 37 children whose treatment has failed
- completely fund promising research that could lead us closer to a cure
When this was explained to Zach, he sat back and said, “Wow, we are making a difference!”
Zach plans to study medicine next year in college. He isn’t sure he wants to be a doctor but loves science and wants to find a career where he can help people every day. Fortunately, Ryan is ready to step into the family business and continue their work as a gold bow captain when his brother leaves. These two really are making a difference and most assuredly will continue to do so.
To learn more about the Gold Bow Program, please visit curegoldbows.org.
