September campaign will bring care packages to children and families, illuminate landmarks globally and continue a national push for action on pediatric cancer
PHILADELPHIA — Aug. 24, 2026 — From Philadelphia and Central Florida to skylines around the world, the Ahmad Butler Foundation will mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month this September with a coordinated campaign combining direct support for children and families, global public awareness and continued national advocacy on pediatric cancer.
Beginning Sept. 1, the Foundation will expand its longstanding Captain Poodaman Care Package program in Pennsylvania and Florida, continue its international Fight With Lights™ campaign and grow its HOPE for a Cure Advocates network around one message: childhood cancer deserves more than awareness.
“September gives us a national moment to put childhood cancer in front of people, but these children and families live this reality every day of the year,” said Latanya Morrison, founder and executive director of the Ahmad Butler Foundation. “When families battling childhood cancer looks up and see their city skyline or landmarks illuminated in gold, we want them to know what those lights mean: people they may never meet support them, care that they are fighting, and are standing with them. We want these families to look up and know one thing: they are not in this fight alone.”
Two Communities. One Mission.
In Pennsylvania, Morrison will begin Childhood Cancer Awareness Month on Sept. 1 with a visit to a Ronald McDonald House as part of the Foundation’s Captain Poodaman Care Package program.
She will be joined by Captain Poodaman and The Cheetah, the Foundation’s superhero mascots, as ABF brings care packages and moments of encouragement to children and families.
The program is connected to the legacy of Morrison’s grandson, Ahmad Butler, whose battle with pediatric brain cancer inspired the creation of the Foundation. Before his death, Ahmad dreamed of becoming a police officer and “helping a lot of people.” Morrison has carried that promise forward through ABF’s family-support programs and advocacy.
At the same time, more than 900 miles away in Palm Bay, Florida, ABF will undertake one of its largest Central Florida care-package efforts to date.
Jason Collins, director of communications and external relations for the Ahmad Butler Foundation and a pediatric cancer advocate, will lead volunteers alongside his wife, Brittany Collins, in assembling more than 300 Captain Poodaman Care Packages from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Ted Whitlock Community Center in Palm Bay.
The packages are planned for children and families served by Nemours Children’s Health, AdventHealth for Children, Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida.
Designed to provide what ABF calls a “Wonderful Distraction” from hospitalization and treatment, packages may include superhero capes, sensory and fidget items, games, coloring books, comfort items, handwritten cards, nut-free snacks and gift cards, depending on facility requirements. Local businesses, donors and community members are contributing items and support.
“When a child is hospitalized, sometimes they just need something that takes them away from that environment, even if it’s only for a few moments,” said Jason Collins, director of communications and external affairs for the Ahmad Butler Foundation, who is coordinating the Central Florida effort. “If one of these care packages can provide that wonderful distraction — something that makes them smile, gets them playing or lets them forget about being a patient for a little while — then for those few moments, they can just be a kid.”
A Global Fight With Lights
Beyond Philadelphia and Florida, ABF’s The Fight With Lights™ campaign will once again carry the message of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month around the world.
The campaign encourages landmarks, bridges, buildings and public spaces to illuminate in yellow and gold during September as a visible symbol of solidarity with children battling cancer, survivors, their families and those whose lives have been lost to the disease.
In 2024, more than 120 landmarks participated across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Past participants have included One World Trade Center, Willis Tower, Niagara Falls, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Boathouse Row, the CN Tower, King’s Cross Station in London and landmarks throughout Western Australia.
The Foundation’s message to families is simple: We see you. We support you. We fight with you. You are not alone.
ABF encourages supporters to visit participating landmarks during September and share photographs using #TheFightWithLights and #AhmadButlerFoundation. Participating landmarks and illumination dates will be featured at ahmadbutler.foundation/the-fight-with-lights/.
Turning Awareness Into National Action
For ABF, the gold lights and care packages are part of a larger effort to turn awareness into lasting change.
The Foundation is calling for pediatric cancer to receive emergency-level federal attention while continuing development of the proposed Ahmad Butler Pediatric Cancer HOPE for a Cure Act.
ABF is pursuing two distinct emergency pathways: calling on the president to consider a national emergency declaration under applicable presidential authority and asking the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services to formally evaluate pediatric cancer for a Public Health Emergency determination under Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act.
The Foundation is also working with U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., on the proposed HOPE for a Cure Act. The measure has not yet been introduced and remains under legislative, legal and technical development. In April, Boyle raised the proposed legislation and ABF’s emergency request directly with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing.
The advocacy grew from ABF’s work with families. In 2025, Morrison completed a 179-mile walk from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. At its conclusion, ABF delivered a petition representing more than 600 families from 29 states to Congress.
Today, the Foundation’s HOPE for a Cure Advocates program is building a national network of families, survivors, health care professionals, volunteers and supporters who want to participate in pediatric cancer advocacy.
“The care packages represent what we can do for a child and family today,” Morrison said. “The lights remind the world that these families are here and that they matter. And the advocacy is about changing what tomorrow looks like. They are all part of the promise we made to keep helping people in Ahmad’s name.”
Founded in 2020, the Ahmad Butler Foundation has served more than 15,000 children and families facing pediatric cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
This September, ABF is calling on communities in Philadelphia, Central Florida, across the United States and around the world to turn childhood cancer awareness into action.