Bay Ridge

Bay Ridge Cares going gold for kids with cancer

September 8, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Members of Bay Ridge Cares placed a giant gold bow around a tree on Fifth Avenue in the “Go Gold Bay Ridge” campaign last year. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas
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In an effort to spread a message of hope, members of Bay Ridge Cares, a grass-roots charity group, are conducting their second annual Go Gold Bay Ridge to raise awareness of pediatric cancer.

Bay Ridge Cares is asking fellow residents to place gold ribbons in their windows and to patronize stores that display signs emblazoned with gold ribbons.

Teri Brennan, a member of the Board of Directors of Bay Ridge Cares, organized the “Go Gold Bay Ridge” effort.

Justin Brannan, vice president and founder of Bay Ridge Cares, said the Go Gold campaign is being conducted in tribute to kids with cancer. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Last year’s inaugural campaign was a smashing success, according to Brannan.

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“These children and families who are staring down the unknown and battling the unimaginable, every Go Gold sign they see, every gold bow around a tree, every gold light in a store window will send a little message that they are not alone. That’s what this is all about; showing these families that we’re all in this together,” Brannan told the Brooklyn Eagle via email.

Go Gold Bay Ridge signs are available at the offices of Councilmember Vincent Gentile at 8018 Fifth Ave., and state Sen. Marty Golden at 7408 Fifth Ave.

Each year, an estimated 15,700 children are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S., according to the American Childhood Cancer Organization.

Here are some of the ways Bay Ridge Cares is asking residents to support the Go Gold effort: shining yellow light bulbs on their front porches and in their front windows, placing strings of yellow lights around their windows and wearing gold ribbons.

The Go Gold Bay Ridge campaign is part of a larger, worldwide Go Gold for Cancer phenomenon that began last year when New Hampshire resident Tony Stoddard started a campaign to mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by urging the owners of famous buildings to display gold lights in tribute to the courage of children with cancer.

The Go Gold campaign is also designed to highlight the need for more funding into research for a cure, according to advocates.

In 2014, One World Trade Center went gold, so did the Parachute Jump at Coney Island. And Times Square joined the movement in spectacular fashion, as the dazzling digital signs at the Crossroads of the World went gold for one night.

But few communities are getting behind the Go Gold movement like Bay Ridge, according to Brannan.

“By now I think everyone knows that Bay Ridge comes together like nobody’s business,” he said.

The campaign is personal for many of the participants, Brannan said.

“Some of our neighbors have been touched directly by pediatric cancer, while others know someone who has. Go Gold means we’re all here to support each other because that’s just how it’s done. That’s the Brooklyn way,” Brannan said.

The Bay Ridge Go Gold campaign will continue throughout the month of September.

For more information on the worldwide effort, visit www.gogold.org.


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