Mario Kart tournament raises funds for childhood cancer
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(ABC 6 News) – September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month and local groups in southeast Minnesota are working to make a huge impact on those who know just how difficult that diagnosis can be.
To help raise awareness and money, the Super Herber Bros Foundation is hosting a Mario Kart tournament and donating all of the proceeds to childhood cancer organizations and families dealing with a childhood cancer diagnosis.
Andy Herber is a father of three kids with serious medical issues, including one son who survived childhood cancer.
“Worst thing in the world. We’re coming up on five years since I heard the words that ‘your four-year-old has cancer’, so I’m thankful that he’s here and he’s running around and he’s in third grade and he’s playing, sometimes that’s not the outcome,” said Herber.
He started the Super Herber Bros Foundation in honor of his kids.
September is childhood cancer awareness month and local groups in southeast Minn. are working to make a huge impact on those who know just how difficult that diagnosis can be.
This is the fifth year his family has run a Mario Kart tournament to raise funds for childhood cancer research.
Herber says childhood cancer is not as well researched or funded as adult cancers.
“Cancer research is highly dependent on non-profit organizations, and then it’s unfortunately a bankrupting diagnosis for families,” said Herber.
One of the organizations receiving money from the fundraiser is the Childhood Cancer Community, a group that helps provide resources for families dealing with a childhood cancer diagnosis.
The group’s president and founder, Shanna Lunasin, is a childhood cancer survivor herself.
“Childhood cancer is an experience like no other experience because it affects the whole family, it’s not just that patient who’s affected. For myself, it was obviously a lot of treatment and time in the hospital, but for my family, it was kind of an uprooting of everything else,” said Lunasin.
Her organization focuses on emotional support for people going through this difficult situation, just like her family and the Herber family.
If you have a child diagnosed with cancer and need help, or are looking for a way to help others, you can get in touch with the Childhood Cancer Community through their website.