Going Gold Committee Raises Awareness and $15,000 for ThinkBIG® Pediatric Cancer Fund

Photo caption: Going Gold 2023 raised awareness and $15,000 to support ThinkBIG^® Pediatric Cancer Fund. 

Photo (L-R): Mike Thomas, President/CEO, Service 1st Federal Credit Union; Damien Malfara, Owner, Old Forge Brewing Company; Colleen Phillips, Vice President Marketing, Service 1st Federal Credit Union; Maria Malfara, Owner, Old Forge Brewing Company; Jace Rovenolt, General Manager, Old Forge Brewing Company; and Brett Barrick, Director, ThinkBIG^® Pediatric Cancer Fund Board of Directors. 

(Danville, PA) – During Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month in September, a number of local businesses, organizations and communities joined together to raise awareness about pediatric cancer and $15,000 to support the ThinkBIG^® Pediatric Cancer Fund (ThinkBIG^®). 

The 2023 Going Gold Committee kicked off a month-long calendar of events with a special outdoor event held at Canal Park during the Annual Fall Arts & Crafts Festival in Danville on September 9, 2023. Events were also held throughout the month at Arrowhead Restaurant & Bar, Milton; Old Forge Brewing Company, Danville; Union Cellars, Lewisburg; and Watson Inn, Watsontown. In addition to the awareness events, a special tradition that has become part of this initiative also expanded. For the past few years, Old Forge Brewing Company, Danville, and Marley’s Brewery & Grille, Bloomsburg, have collaborated on a special brew. This year, the collaboration expanded to include Rusty Rail Brewing Company, Mifflinburg. Together, they partnered to produce Gold Dust. This collaboration helped elevate awareness and raise additional funds for this special cause.

Other organizations involved included: Danville Business Alliance, Danville; Geisinger, Danville; Heart to Hand Ministries, Danville; Service 1st Federal Credit Union, Danville; and Weis, Sunbury.

In 2015, Woody Wolfe approached Old Forge Brewing Company and Service 1st Federal Credit Union and asked, “Why not go gold?” Going Gold soon grew into a month-long awareness effort. Each year, support continues to expand as additional communities and organizations join the fight against pediatric cancer.

Nearly 15,500 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year. ThinkBIG^® is dedicated to minimizing the stress families battling pediatric cancer experience, by providing financial support for everyday cost of living expenses and unpaid medical bills. Since 2014, this organization has allocated over $1.3 million to help local families battling this disease.

This was the nineth consecutive year for the initiative. To date, the committee has raised over $112,250.

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