The Paxton Andrews Foundation and Highlander Football team up annually to help raise awareness for childhood cancer by wearing gold, the ribbon color for this type of cancer.  On Sept. 22, the student section’s gold sparkle radiated throughout the stands as the game went on.

“I think it’s important that when these kids are in such tough battles of fighting cancer, that they know there are thousands of their closest friends supporting them by wearing gold,” Erik Sutton, junior, said.

According to the Paxton Andrews Foundation, one in every 330 Americans develop cancer before the age of 20, and cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under 15 in the United States. Since joining forces with the Pax Foundation, the contributions from Homestead have helped provide support for multiple children and their families after facing a cancer diagnosis.

“Lots of people are affected by lots of different cancers, but childhood cancer is something that us high schoolers can relate to, because we are the same age as some of those kids who are fighting their biggest battle in life,” Elisa Carranza, senior, said.

“When we talked about Highlanders Together to start the year, it was specifically about hurricane victims, but it’s also really about a greater sensibility. Wearing gold in a sense is Highlanders Together, because we are raising awareness for another community, for those kids fighting childhood cancer,” Brett Bowers, principal, said.

The golden glimmer of Homestead will continue to shine brightly for those kids fighting childhood cancer.

“While [Homestead] looks to secure another home-field victory against Nicolet; they’re already champions in our books – and in the books of hundreds of warriors who they’ve supported in their fight against childhood cancer. The very best type of champion, indeed,” the Pax Foundation commented.

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Meg Niedfeldt

Seniors in the student section cheer on the team during a play.