Grace Preschool is gearing up for Pedal for Pediatrics. On Friday, May 7th, the boys and girls of Grace Preschool, bikes and helmets in hand, will pedal their hearts out to raise money for Johns Hopkins. Over the past six years, local preschools, including Grace Preschool, Redeemer Parish Day School, Ascension Lutheran, Garrison Forest Preschool, St. Paul’s Plus, Trinity Episcopal, and McDonogh’s Pre-Kindergarten, have collectively raised approximately $65,000 to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Division of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, where the focus is entirely on the research and treatment of childhood cancers.
Pedal for Pediatrics is especially meaningful for the Grace Preschool community because of Zara Price, our very own cancer survivor. Zara was diagnosed with cancer five days after her first birthday. Her parents suddenly found themselves on a boat at sea in the middle of a ferocious storm. The Johns Hopkins pediatric oncology department quickly stepped in within hours of her diagnosis to man their ship. Fighting through waves and uncertainty, Johns Hopkins steadily steered them to safe land and reminded the Price family of the beacon of hope that lay ahead on shore.
Zara’s mom, Shahla, was then, and remains now, humbled and indebted to the years of research, sacrifice, and other dedication that the pediatric oncologists and scientists had applied in the pursuit of treating, and one day curing, pediatric cancer. It was because these doctors, along with their incredible research, had sacrificed so much that her daughter had hope of living. Pediatric oncology is not a job to this department. It is a vocation, a passion, a problem that doctors and researchers wish to solve so intensely, you would have thought it was their own child they were trying to save.
The Prices committed early on to the endeavor of trying to raise money for Johns Hopkins pediatric oncology research so that other children here in Baltimore and throughout the world can continue to benefit from their tireless pursuit of hope. They give so that kids can live.
On Friday, April 30th, Shahla and Zara Price spoke to the four and five-year-olds at Grace Preschool about how even young children can help make a difference in the lives of so many other children in Baltimore and beyond. Shahla read the story “Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand”, a true story about a little girl named Alex who was faced with a big problem. Alex came up with an idea to sell lemonade from a lemonade stand, and in the process learned that one small act of kindness can have a huge impact on others.
Please consider partnering with Johns Hopkins, The Price Family, and Grace Preschool to raise money for kids like Zara and so many others in Maryland.
Donation Link: https://secure.jhu.edu/form/pedalforpeds.
