News & Stories

The COVID-19 pandemic has made coping with a childhood cancer diagnosis more difficult than ever, but at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, kids and families don’t have to face it alone.

To show our support for children battling cancer, we’re hosting #ChalkForMasonic, a four-day event during the first week of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. From Sept. 1 to Sept. 4, we’re asking people, families, businesses, to create chalk art with heartfelt and inspiring messages for our cancer patients. For each submission we receive, Caribou Coffee will donate $1 to fund the life-saving pediatric cancer research taking place at our hospital.

1. Create an inspirational or encouraging chalk art design for our families. Your art or message can be any size, color, or shape. You can draw it on a sidewalk, chalkboard, or any other suitable surface. It can contain words, or it can just be a drawing. Need some motivation? Watch our video featuring our patients and staff, former Minnesota Twins player Justin Morneau, and Caribou Coffee CEO John Butcher to get started! 
   
   
   
   
2. Once you’ve completed your artwork, post a photo and a description of it on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter along with the hashtag #ChalkForMasonic. Entries must be shared on social media between Sept. 1 and Sept. 4 to be eligible. If you would prefer, you can email your submission to us during the same time period at lawso161@umn.edu or donate directly to our Pediatric Oncology Research Fund. Don’t forget to tag our hospital’s social media accounts listed below when you post your submission!
   
   Facebook
   Instagram
   Twitter
   
   
3. After you’ve submitted your artwork, follow along using the #ChalkForMasonic hashtag to see what others are sharing! Stay on the lookout for special guest appearances during the event and help us spread the word on your social media networks so that together we can take the fight to childhood cancer.
   
   
4. After the event ends on Sept. 4, our partner Caribou Coffee will donate $1 for each art submission or use of the #ChalkForMasonic hashtag on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or through email. Their funding will help advance pediatric cancer research at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.

M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital in the state affiliated with the University of Minnesota Medical School and Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. Our partnership with these premier research and academic institutions allows us to translate the latest scientific breakthroughs into life-saving treatments for kids.

Your continued support will help fuel that research, but it also allows us to offer extensive support for children and families at our hospital as they cope with a life-changing diagnosis.