Sawyer’s Warriors paint Hanover businesses gold to raise awareness for childhood cancer

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - The Perkins family, who started Sawyer’s Warriors after losing their 10-year-old daughter, Sawyer Perkins, to cancer, are painting Hanover County business’ windows gold to raise awareness for childhood cancer.

At least 10 businesses have already donated windows for the cause. Volunteers are starting at Sports Page Bar, and Grille Sawyer’s mother says that was her favorite place to eat.

“She was so sweet, a chicken-loving, chocolate milk-loving little thing. In the end, Sports Page was all she wanted, said Samantha Masters.

Her mother agreed, saying, “It was her favorite thing to eat.”

Sawyer’s journey with cancer, and her family’s journey still, pushed Jamie Perkins to create Sawyer’s Warriors as a way to help other families who have children with cancer. Data from the American Childhood Cancer Organization shows that 1 in 285 children in the U.S. are told they have cancer by the time they turn 20.

“So that’s 43 kids a day that are diagnosed with cancer, so it’s not rare anymore,” Perkins said.

The ‘Paint Hanover in Gold’ project is one way of reminding people how common childhood cancer is and that the journey isn’t over after a funeral.

“Everybody seems to walk away after the funeral, so we want to provide some peace and comfort to siblings and parents after such a profound loss,” said Perkins.

In order to help families, Sawyer’s story has to keep being told. Her siblings tell NBC12 that Sawyer was extremely loving but also feisty, which made her... her.

“She was never afraid to be herself, and even though I’m older than her, it made me look up to her,” her brother, Ace, said.

The family is hoping that partnering with businesses to paint Hanover in gold will not only help with awareness but maybe give someone the motivation they need to keep going.

“Don’t be afraid to reach out and see what help you can get and find your support system,” Sawyer’s sister, Madison, said.

If you want to help spread awareness about the impact childhood cancer has, you can take a selfie in front of any of the painted windows, post it on social media and tag Sawyer’s Warriors.

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