Lake Country This Month

By Katherine Michalets Special to The Freeman HARTLAND — While many people may want to withdraw and take time to heal after losing a loved one, seventh-grader Annie Bartosz wanted to join the fight against pediatric can- cer after her twin brother, Jack, died from the disease in 2012. "I just want to get kids some help and I feel like there is hope out there for everyone," she said. Creating awareness A student at Swallow School, Bartosz has watched her parents create the thriving organization I Back Jack and her broth- er's involvement with the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer. Annie's project, Gold in September (G9), began a little more than a year ago. Sarah Bartosz said the idea for the project came in 2012 when she and her hus- band had to tell Annie that her brother, who was her best friend, would die from cancer. The girl's response was to ask if there was any- thing else that could be done for Jack, even moving to another country for other treatment options. After Jack died, Bartosz approached her daughter and asked her if they should take a break from running I Back Jack. "I didn't want to put that kind of pressure on Annie that this is something we need to do," she said. Annie's response was that the family should keep working on building aware- ness for pediatric cancer and to continue the fight against it. Her frustration was that no one knew September was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month or that gold was the color to represent it, Sarah Bartosz said. The idea for the Gold in September project to encourage people to take action against pediatric cancer emerged. "Annie would like to fig- ure out a way to unite under an umbrella of gold," she said. The commercial To promote Gold in September, a partnership was formed with the MACC Fund, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and other groups. While the initiative was growing, it's a recent commercial with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and local attorney David Gruber that has really ignited the pro- ject. Annie said she had met Rodgers before when he worked with the MACC Fund. Rodgers also became a friend of Jack during that time. The day Annie spent with Rodgers knocking on doors in Shorewood to let resi- dents know about Gold in September was the first time she really got to spend time with him. "It was awesome; he is just so nice," she said. "He wants to obviously to help with Gold in September." In the video, Rodgers said Jack Bartosz was a special kid who meant a lot to him. "He was a big inspiration for me doing stuff with the MACC fund," he said in the video. "Two years ago was really hard with his pass- ing — really, really hard, but Annie has a lot of strength." She recalled how they skipped one house that day because it had a Bears flag outside. Sarah Bartosz said she was thrilled that someone like Rodgers would reach out to them to help promote their cause. "I know he wanted to do an amazing job in telling this story," she said. "He wanted to do the whole story justice — how it all came together." She was also happy to see him don the Gold in September polo shirt. The meeting was a surprise for Annie, but for Sarah it took months of planning. "I kept saying, 'I think great things are going to happen in September 2014'," Sarah Bartosz said. When the middle-school- er and NFL star met, there was a real sense of friend- ship and camaraderie, Sarah Bartosz said. "It was even more gen- uine in person," she said. "They were laughing with each other, joking around." Gold year-round Now that September is over, Sarah Bartosz said their mission has moved on to infor ming people that 16,000 children will likely be diagnosed with cancer in 2014. "If you are not doing something, do something," she said. "Do anything, something to help with this horrible disease." The mission for the ini- tiative run completely on volunteer hours is "To raise awareness of child- hood cancer and inspire action so that every child everywhere can defeat childhood cancer." Half of the funds raised will be distributed to the Children's Oncolog y Group's Project: EveryChild to test and tis- sue bank cancer cells from every child in North Amer- ica who is diagnosed with cancer. The other half will be given to 27 G9 Centers of Excellence located across North America, which includes the Children's Oncology Group Phase 1 & Pilot Consortium. The G9 Centers of Excel- lence will use the funds for pediatric cancer care and research, according to www.goldinseptember.com. Annie Bartosz said her personal mission is to make sure kids come first because there is never a time of the year that they can't be. According to Cancer.gov, more than 80 percent of children and adolescents who are diagnosed with cancer live at least five years after their diagnosis. Annie's mission is to make that a 100 percent survival rate. Another dream is to make the NFL go gold in September. There is so much people can do for Gold in Septem- ber, Annie Bartosz said, such as wear gold, talk about it, buy merchandise and contribute funds. To lear n more about Gold in September or to watch the whole commer- cial with Rodgers, go to www.goldinseptember.com. FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY • Page 3A OCTOBER 2014 240315003 K i t c h e n s | B a t h s | D e n s | C a b i n s | O f f i c e s | R e c R o o m s Work With Experienced Design Professionals "We Specialize in Cabinetry" 1005 Richards Road, Hartland | 262.367.9439 www.kitchencreators.com Cabinetry For every Room, Every Budget! STOP IN NOW AND SEE OUR NEW GREEN BAY GREEN AND GOLD DISPLAY. WE CAN DO ANY TEAM COLORS! MANY OTHER NEW DISPLAYS 240549013 HUGE SHOWROOM CLOSEOUT SALE Displays must go to make room for new displays *Call Kitchen Creators today for details while supplies last! We Beat All Big Box Stores and all Competitors | Visit Our Showroom By Appointment 'AN UMBRELLA OF GOLD' Aaron Rodgers, Hartland girl spreading awareness of pediatric cancer Submitted photo Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Hartland resident Annie Bartosz have become partners in the fight against pedi- atric cancer.

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