Thursday at AdventHealth Training Center saw some staff and players take part in one of the most fun yearly rituals here in Tampa, the “Cut and Color Funds the Cure” benefit. The event, held for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (NPCF), is in it’s tenth year, and it brought out a huge group of Bucs legends.
For the cure ????
Thanks for coming out to our ????th annual Cut and Color Funds the Cure to benefit @PediatricCancer, @RobGronkowski! pic.twitter.com/SMkbYWy6zf
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) June 6, 2024
During the event, Buccaneers current and former players, staff, and even hall of famers have their heads or facial hair shaved or colored red by pediatric cancer patients . This year even brought out Buccaneers COO Brian Ford to take part in the festivities.
In the ten year tradition, the team has raised over $700,000 for the NPCF and created many more priceless memories. For the first time this year, the event was open to the public, with seating access and signed photos going to fans that donated at least $100 to the cause.
#Bucs Bruce Arians changed his flight so that he could stay in Tampa and participate in Cut & Color Funds the Cure benefitting the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation! pic.twitter.com/rrl97xeQav
— rock riley (@realrockriley) June 6, 2024
Current or former staff members in attendance this year were GM Jason Licht, Head Coach Todd Bowles, former coach Bruce Arians, Assistant General Managers Mike Greenberg and John Spytek, and others. Players like Mike Evans, Jamel Dean, Antoine Winfield Jr., Cade Otton, and Yaya Diaby sat while patients sheared or died their hair while the press took photos and fans interacted with staff and members of the NPCF.
Former players notably involved this year included Rob Gronkowski (of course), Mike Alstott, Ronde Barber, Barry Smith, Dave Moore, Richard “Batman” Wood, Jimmie Giles, Martin Gramatica, Michael Clayton, and Dexter Jackson.
The #Bucs 10th annual Cut and Color Funds the Cure to benefit pediatric cancer went off without a hitch as players (current and alumni) as well as coaches and staff showed up in droves to support finding a cure. pic.twitter.com/jIAZUXwaSJ
— JC Allen (@JCAllenNFL) June 6, 2024
Buccaneers Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford was quoted, “Every year we try to give an afternoon to some very courageous children and their families to forget about what they are up against, and you just see smiles all around.”
The National Pediatric Cancer Foundation is a non-profit based right here in Tampa. The purpose of the organization is to raise awareness and fund research to try to eliminate childhood cancer. It uses research initiatives to combat cancer early on in some cases and fund targeted treatments in collaboration with the nation’s leading hospitals. Cancer is the number one disease based cause of death to children in the U.S. and everyday, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer in this country.
More than 95 percent of childhood cancer survivors experience significant health-related issues by age 45 due to the current treatment options, something the NPCF is trying to change. Sadly, only 4% of the billions of dollars allocated for cancer research by the federal government is specifically for treating childhood cancer.
We are continuing to support the fight against childhood cancer through our ninth Cut and Color Funds the Cure ???? pic.twitter.com/qyapDqq91t
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) June 14, 2023
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