Burwell Longhorns Join the Childhood Cancer Fight

Friday, November 1, 2019

The Burwell Junior High football team, rallied the Longhorns and the Burwell community to get behind the childhood cancer cause. The awareness and fundraising efforts began with Burwell’s Junior High football game on October 21st vs. the West Holt Huskies, which is Jack Hoffman’s team. Donation buckets were placed around the bleachers, the concessions area and throughout town to collect funds to be used for research via the Team Jack Foundation.

While a check was presented to Jack Hoffman’s family after the game, donations continued to be collected through the varsity football game vs. Ansley-Litchfield on October 24th. In all, $1,253.39 was raised for childhood brain cancer research through Burwell’s efforts.

When asked why Burwell Public Schools chose Team Jack as the benefactor of their fundraiser, Mr. Kyle Drake, Elementary Principal stated, “We chose to participate in this campaign because we wanted to come together as a school and community to support child cancer research that will help people in our town, surrounding communities and our state. We knew that the Team Jack Foundation was the right partner for us.”

We chose to participate in this campaign because we wanted to come together as a school and community to support child cancer research that will help people in our town, surrounding communities and our state. We knew that the Team Jack Foundation was the right partner for us.” -Kyle Drake, Burwell Public Schools Elementary Principal

The amount of awareness raised throughout fundraisers like Burwell’s is just as important as the funds raised for research. Each year in the United States approximately 4,600 kids are diagnosed with brain cancer which is considered a rare disease, so educating the public about the disease is the first step in increasing research funding. Although child brain cancer is considered a rare disease, it is the leading childhood cancer cause of death.

Many experts believe that pediatric brain cancer research findings will also translate into new discoveries for other childhood and adult cancers. The Team Jack Foundation has been successful in funding child cancer research thanks to the generosity of many businesses and individuals in Nebraska and nation-wide. For more on the research investments made by Team Jack, visit www.teamjackfoundation.org/research.

If you or your organization are interested in helping Team Jack in the fight, click here for ways you can help.