Danilo Gallinari Teams Up with the St. Baldrick's Foundation for the Greatest Assist

Boston Celtics' Player becomes a St. Baldrick's Champion to help Conquer Kids' Cancer

BOSTON, Nov. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Danilo Gallinari, power forward for the Boston Celtics, is teaming up with the St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, to help conquer kids' cancer. 

"I'm deeply thankful to have the opportunity to team up with the St. Baldrick's Foundation and utilize my platform to make a positive impact on the lives of children fighting cancer," said Gallinari. "St. Baldrick's commitment to supporting cancer research and treatment means a great deal to me and I look forward to spending my time off the court to support this lifesaving cause."

Gallinari will be kicking off his support for St. Baldrick's by getting involved with the charity's Giving Tuesday campaign to raise funds for research focused on finding cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. The campaign will be launched on Tuesday, November 29 with a video featuring Gallinari and childhood cancer survivor, Oliver Gant, from Raleigh, N.C.

In the video, Gallinari shares the startling statistic that in the 2-minute break between quarters, another child will be diagnosed with cancer. Oliver is one of those kids. Before he was 2 years old, Oliver was diagnosed with cancer, a stage 3 germ cell tumor. He had 4 rounds of chemo to shrink the tumor, and then a major surgery to remove it, but the cancer continued to grow. With limited options, the doctors tried a different chemotherapy treatment and another surgery. Because of research, Oliver is now a 13-year-old survivor with a passion for playing guitar, rock climbing, and sharing his story to help other kids affected by cancer.

St. Baldrick's is dedicated to funding the best childhood cancer research, no matter where it takes place, so that kids can survive and thrive. Appropriately, Gallinari closes out the video saying, "The greatest assist you can give kids with cancer is helping to fund lifesaving research."

"We are honored to have Danilo as one of our St. Baldrick's Champions helping to raise awareness and funds for research that will save kids' lives," said Kathleen Ruddy, St. Baldrick's CEO. "Danilo has such a big heart and is committed to helping the cause in any way that he can. We hope others will be encouraged to join in and help kids live long, healthy lives, and maybe even grow up to be the next great basketball player!"

Join Danilo and Oliver this Giving Tuesday and make a donation that will give hope to kids with cancer. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and help raise awareness by tagging @StBaldricks.

Every 2 minutes, a child somewhere in the world is diagnosed with cancer. In the U.S., 1 in 5 will not survive. The St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, is on a mission to Conquer Kids' Cancer by supporting the most promising research to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. When you give to St. Baldrick's, you don't just give to one hospital – you support virtually every institution with the expertise to treat kids with cancer across the U.S. St. Baldrick's ensures that children fighting cancer now -- and those diagnosed in the future -- will have access to the most cutting-edge treatment, by supporting every stage of research, from new ideas in the lab to the training of the next generation of researchers, to lifesaving clinical trials. Visit StBaldricks.org and help #ConquerKidsCancer. 

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past ten years, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

Whether it's making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts and everyone has something to give. GivingTuesday strives to build a world in which the catalytic power of generosity is at the heart of the society we build together, unlocking dignity, opportunity and equity around the globe.

SOURCE St. Baldrick's Foundation