’Tis the season for giving . . . and Blake Shelton is giving back to his home state in a major way by helping establish the Blake Shelton Cancer Research Program at Oklahoma University’s Children’s Hospital.
Blake created the program in honor of his infant cousin, who underwent cancer treatment at the hospital’s Jimmy Everest Center when she was five months old. The center is Oklahoma’s only full-service children’s cancer program. After two blood transfusions, surgery and three rounds of chemotherapy, Blake’s cousin is getting ready to celebrate her third birthday in January.
In 2016, Blake donated $600,000 to the Jimmy Everest Center during a concert stop in Oklahoma City on Sept. 10. Blake brought his young cousin onstage and told the fans in attendance about her battle with cancer.
“This time last year, we had a scare,” said Blake. “And, we didn’t know what was going going to happen. And, you can see that she’s here right now . . . [Jimmy Everest Children’s Hospital doesn’t] turn any kids away. You come in there, you have a problem, they don’t turn anybody away, so I thought ‘That’s a place that needs some money. Let’s all do the right thing.’ This is our money, Oklahoma.”
Oklahoma native and country music star,@blakeshelton, establishes the Blake Shelton Cancer Research Program in honor of his cousin, Aspen Van Horn. You can support the research program here: https://t.co/IZ7XLrB7rO #blakeshelton #cancersucks #defeatchildhoodcancer pic.twitter.com/3bkbwT0tX0
— Childrens Hosp Found (@okchf) December 10, 2018
If you’d like to make a donation to Blake’s program, visit the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Foundation page.
