The Ross Medical Education Center Roosevelt Park campus observed the annual “Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast” event on February 18th. The one day event is an opportunity to remember the children who have lost their lives to cancer, to support the kids fighting cancer, and to celebrate the survivors. The event was begun by a Minnesota family whose 9 year old daughter passed away in December of 2010 after a 14 month battle with cancer. Each year on her February 18th birthday, Malia Grace’s favorite tradition was eating ice cream for breakfast. So, to remember her on her first birthday after her death, her parents invited family and friends to a virtual birthday party by posting photos of themselves eating ice cream for breakfast.
These photos soon went viral and began an event that thousands decided to join in on. For the last five years, the “Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast” campaign has continued to grow and to touch hundreds of other families that are in similar situations. According to their Facebook page, people from over 83 different countries were supporting, remembering, and celebrating the international holiday this February 18, 2015.
The family is overwhelmed with gratitude, but they aren’t the only ones affected. Anita Howard-Clark, Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration student, understands the feeling of losing a loved one to cancer. Her husband passed away from cancer and then her nephew Trevor passed away at the age of eight to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). According to Anita, “doing things like Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast makes the families feel their children are not forgotten.” Anita also stated that childhood cancer is not something that people generally like to talk about, “it seems like we all talk about breast cancer awareness but nothing about cancer affecting kids.”
To read more about this event and find ways to get involved, visit their Facebook page or their website at http://eaticecreamforbreakfast.com/.