Formed by Iowa families whose children have been diagnosed with childhood cancer, the mission of Beat Cancer Today (www.beatcancertoday.org) is to create awareness of childhood cancer and provide financial support for continued childhood cancer research and patient and family support programs. Funds raised by Beat Cancer Today t-shirt sales and special events have been distributed to Band of Parents (www.bandofparents.org), Children’s Cancer Connection (www.childrenscancerconnection.org), Children's Oncology Group (www.childrensoncologygroup.org), Pascale's Pals (www.pascalespals.org) and University of Iowa Dance Marathon (dancemarathon.uiowa.edu). While not all of our committee members are parents of children with cancer, we have all been touched by childhood cancer in some way and are committed to working hard to raise awareness of it and provide financial support for continued research and support programs. Beat Cancer Today is completely run by volunteers, there is no paid staff. Cancer is the #1 cause of death by disease in children, more than the next four childhood diseases combined. Facts provided by www.CureSearch/Childhood-Cancer-Statistics/: Nearly 13,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year, the equivalent of two school classrooms a day. Only 4% of Federal cancer research funding is directed to childhood cancers, which is the lowest in history. 1 out of 5 children diagnosed with cancer will not survive. 3 out of 5 children who do survive will suffer devastating, long-term side effects. More than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer each year in our country. http://www.twitter.com/beatcancer http://www.facebook.com/beatcancertoday